MENDING THE PIECES
by SakuMiChanNoGaara
Summary: After her captive days in the hands of Akatsuki and bein rescued by her friends Sakura finds herself with a little extra bundle of joy that she aquire while in Akatsuki and now she finds confort in who is less expected after the fourth shinobi war ended little does she know her adventures are about to begin.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

MENDING THE PIECES.

Prologue.

It all happened so fast, she did not know how to react at the moment, she is a medic-nin, one of the best kunoichi there is after all.

In a way she knew but she choose to ignore it, but now she just had to confirm it.

Looking at the blood test results that Sakura herself took at the hospital out of mere curiosity and now the results said …POSITIVE.

It had been one month since she got rescued when it all happened, what she knew now was very different from what she knew back then.

The moment Akatsiki captured her to get to Naruto to extract the Kiuubi had sealed her fate.

Destiny wanted her to know the whole truth, but destiny also wanted to keep on tormenting her...gosh that damn destiny. She never expected to fall in love with him, specially not him after all he is the one that destroyed her child crush life, made him into a sadistic crazy jerk...well more that what he always was …but that was the point, Sasuke left to avenge his clan and now…now this.

She also did not ask for his help to escape, but he gave it anyways, even though the first three times he tried they failed, but she always wondered why,,,damn it why is he so nice..He is supposed to be the biggest asshole even bigger than what Sasuke was.

The moment she was captured by that damn man plant Zetsu from her own home she knew she might die, but when Leader Pain orders her to heal Itachi's eyes she honestly never expected this.

In all those Healing sessions she learned more and more about Itachi Uchiha than expected…than she wanted. That was until one night on the sixth day of her been captured he told her everything , Why? , who knows maybe he was having feelings for her than maybe he needed to talk about it before he died maybe just because, she will never know why. But now, now she knew.

Sakura knew everything…Everything about the massacre, about Maadara, about how the council along with Danzo made it to where the third had no say in the matter and Itachi had to be the one to do it so that he could be able to spare his foolish little brother, She learned everything about the mission that changed not only his life but also Sasuke's, he also told her why he had to become a missing-nin and join Akatsuki to keep an eye on Maadara.

After knowing the truth she began to see Itachi on a whole different light, She got to know the afflicted, sincere and gentle man he really was, his love for his brother was above and beyond anything else, and she also knew that she was getting attached to him.

She was falling in love with him after spending nearly 3 months as a hostage, and that was what also sealed her faith..

Sakura was a medic-nin..One of the best...the Hokages apprentice. And now this...All kunoichis had a special seal that would prevent them from getting pregnant. So when she decided to give her virginity to Itachi Uchiha she did not expect the results she was holding on her hand…. (Maybe Uchiha's had a Super sperm?) who knows.

"How could this have happened? (She whispered to herself)"

She was shocked who would not be right? She did not understand, but then again she had no regrets about her time with Itachi, the times she spent with him were the happiest times of her life...she would never regret not a single thing even though she knew it was not going to last because Itachi always told her of his goals, and he also told her what he needed to do to keep sasuke safe from the curse seal ,Itachi had to remove it and there was no other also knew he was going to die because of this but she would take whatever she could have, she was so happy to have made him happy before that horrible day had to happened.

But it still made her feel scared and weird about it because she was not expecting this.

"What am I going to do about this?"

She told herself, Sakura Haruno was looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror holding the pregnancy test on her hands. She was so confused of course, but somewhere deep inside she was very happy and she started jumping of happiness after her confusion disappeared.

She couldn't help but remember her days in Akatsuki, yes she was kept captive there but she also learned so much about them all.

Kisame he was in charge of her the times Itachi was out, and she became very curious about him very fast ,so she decided to get to know him better, after all he was the funniest of them all even though he looked like a huge mean shark .

She remembered their first conversation. He called her pinky and she got so mad she forgot he was one of the strongest s-rank criminals there were and she dared to call him Fish face. But he was never evil to her he was actually quite nice; she also remembered one specific conversation they had.

 **XxX**

 _FLASH BACK_

" _You sure are weird pinky, most people would never dare to make a conversation with us murderers, and you, ha-ha you even tried to heal Deidara's arms" she looks at him_

" _Kisame, I know why you do what you do, you told me remember?, I do not agree but it is what you believe it's the best, but if I would have meet you before you made the decisions you made ,I believe things would have been different "Kisame looked surprised but he laughed either way. He would not admit that perhaps it would be true_

" _Hahaha…pinky I tell you, you are a weird on indeed...anywaysI see you are spending a lot of time with Itachi... (Looks at her seriously) If I were you I would not get attached, I'm just telling you for your own good" Sakura blushed and looked away towards the door._

" _You know (she turns to kisame) he looks in pain."_

 _END OF FLASH BACK_

 **XxX**

After that she remembers kisame's face turning away and kind of sad, perhaps he knew? She would never know, during the months she was there she got to know Deidara, Konan, Pein, and even Hidan. When she learned that Hidan was put together by Zetsu and revived she was furious, after all he did kill Asuma, she would have never thought Zetsu took chunk by chunk his body so he would come back to life, the only one who stayed dead was Kakuzu (sorry kakuzu fans), After the days passed she understood many things about them, even Hidan.

After the war, after Akatsuki got betrayed by Maadara, After Obito got forced to use the Rinne-Rebirth jutsu by black Zetsu Akatsuki joined forces with the allied forces to get rid of Maadara. They all followed their own paths and Sakura had not seen them after that. she knew Konan and Nagato(Pein) got back to the Rain village because she made different trips to help heal Nagato and get him back to normal, at least he did not depend anymore on a corpse and he was able to move now on his and all of team7 attended Yahiko's funeral but that was the last time she saw them.

"I wonder what they are all doing now?"

Everything happened so fast, the war started on the same week she got rescued and Itachi and Sasuke's final fight was the day she got rescued ,she would never be able to forget that. She remembered how Nagato along everyone else fought for the peace they all very much needed.

But most of all she could not forget Itachi died while fighting with Sasuke, she knew it was bound to happen, after all she always told him she would take whatever time she could get..So why was this so damn hard..And on top of all she was expecting his child, and now all she can do is think.

"At least soon I will have you with me, now I won't be alone.(Sakura whispered to herself while rubbing her flat belly)I can't wait"

After the war was over everything returned back to normal, there was finally peace even with all the hidden villages, and Sakura returned to her normal life, she worked a lot at the hospital, she did not want to have any free time to think about anything..Especially about a certain Uchiha which stole her heart and was now dead. Even though she knew from the beginning it would not last she was still so very sad.

"But even though Itachi I can't help but miss you..Oh so very ….much"

She almost shed tears while on the way work, when she suddenly stopped and she touched her flat belly.

"But now I have a way to remember you by..Forever..(She wiped off the single tear that was rolling down her cheek)"

Suddenly behind her she felt a very familiar chakra signature and not long after that a poof sound along with some smoke appeared right in front of her.

"Kaka-sensei..Stop doing that you'll give me a heart attack" she looked at her favorite sense and noticed he had a pack ready to go. "Are you going on a mission or something sensei?"

"Oy sorry about that Sakura-Chan but I came here to get you , the Hokage has Summoned us for a mission to Suna, Naruto, Sasuke and Sai are waiting with Tsunade-sama and don't worry about your stuff I already brought the spare you keep at my place"

Sakura was not happy at all for this, She knew Sasuke was going to be there, after he learned the truth he was devastated and angry..So angry that he immediately took off to look for Danzo and kill him, He decides to remove and keep Shisui's eye to keep it safe. But after that Sasuke returned to Konoha after the war was over, he came back as a full fledge leaf shinobi.

But Sakura could not help to be very upset every time she saw him, she felt like punching him ( _who wouldn't if they kill the one person you love and the father of your unborn child right?)_

"Kaka-sensei there is already 4 people going on this trip do I really need to go? I mean I have many things pending in the hospital, I'm sure if you talk with Tsunade-shishou she will let me stay"

Kakashi sensed something different but he did not know what it was, he knew why Sakura did not want to come along, she had been avoiding Sasuke for a while now and he also knew why , after all his nose was sharpen even almost like his dogs , and he remembered the day they rescued Sakura from the Akatsuki she smelled like Itachi and Itachi smelled like her. He did not question anything then because it was not his place and he honestly did not like getting on people's business, but now…now Sakura looked different…Radiant? Who knows but there was something and he was going to find out, after all he was like a big brother right so he had some type of right..Damn curiosity.

"Sakura-Chan…(cough , cough) I understand why you don't want to come along and be anywhere near Sasuke, but it is a mission and we need you, besides the mission includes you specifically ..They need you to give special training to the Suna medic-nins "

When Sakura heard Kakashi say he knew why she was shocked (What did he meant by –I know why-..(Thinks) could he know?...Oh Gosh no way !...he knows…he knows about me and Itachi…Oh kami!...how could I be so dumb…of course..He smelled me…Dimmit damn his dammed dog nose..Damn it all)

She cleared her throat and started walking towards the Hokage's building.

"Ok ok Kakashi let's get going than what are you waiting Tsunade-sama is waiting "

Kakashi catches up to Sakura and looks at her (sighs) "Ok ..Sakura what is it?"

She looks back at Kakashi with sad eyes. "Nothing..What do you mean?"(Looks at the floor, Kakashi makes her look at him by grabbing her chin in between his fingers forcing her to look at him in the eye.

"Look Sakura..I know about Itachi and you ok..But you can't let that get in between your friendship with Sasuke, Itachi wouldn't have like that..if he would have known the truth beforehand he would have not killed his brother…this was a choice made by Itachi himself (turns towards the tower) but Sasuke feels bad and he could have you with him to comfort him he has been trying to talk to you but you keep hiding(looks at her)c'mon Sakura just try ok…besides… you used to love him don't you remember?..."

Sakura knew what her sensei was saying was true but she still felt bad, everything that he was telling her was sinking in.

"Ok..Kaka-sensei…(smiles a sad smile)I will try"

So they headed towards the tower to begin with their mission.

 **(A/N: So here it begins, there are many ideas I have for this story to begins and I am so very excited I hope everyone enjoys reading and please let me know of any ideas and if my plot is clear, read and reviews please)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of his characters**

 **(A/N thank you all so very much for the reviews and the very constructive criticism , the story is starting here so I hope you all enjoy and like this chapter and please feel free to let me know if you like it, I kind of had a little bit of trouble but it should be good besides it is only the beginning )**

MENDING THE PIECES

CHAPTER 1. Confusion

In the Hokage's tower there were 3 annoyed and anxious men that where waiting for a certain copy-ninja and a pink hair kunoichi to get on with the mission, Sasuke, Sai and Naruto were running thin on the patience department

"What's keeping them? (Stomach growl) dammed I'm starving and we don't even know what this mission is about…Teme…Teme…are you listening to me?!(Sasuke ignores Naruto) Whatever …if they don't get here within the next 5 minutes I'll just wait for you guys at Ichiraku's (more growls) I'm so hungry "

Sasuke as always was ignoring Naruto's bickering about his hunger issues, instead he was looking out the window with his arms folded against his chest watching the clouds in deep... deep thought _-is this what Shikamaru feels like when he tries to ignore loud blond best friends?-._ Said Uchiha could not believe that being ignored was so damn annoying. But then again said pink hair girl was annoying to him, so why was he feeling so bad about it? (Thinks ) _–Sakura._

"Dickless"

And that's all it took to get the Uchiha more annoyed , what can possible be more annoying than to hear two grown man discussion about male man parts ,Sai was just weird like that and it seemed like the Dobe was just trying to protect his manhood pride.

"I'm just saying we cannot leave , we have to wait for ugly, in a book it said that friends…-"

Sasuke snaps,"Shut up already …this is ridiculous…you two act like kids…Naruto you are so annoying it sickens me and you Sai… you are just plain weird"

Naruto looks at Sasuke like if he was leverage on him …which he probably does because he was witness on a sulking Uchiha that is so annoyed at being ignored by his once upon a time number one fan.

"Teme you are just mad because you have been getting ignored ever since Sakura was rescued, ..(smiles widely) and what annoys you more is the fact that it affects you …right Teme?"

"Hmph!" was all he said and got back to his window.

They were waiting outside the Hokage's office, no one knew what the mission was about. For them all Kakashi had told them was that it was something involving Sakura in Suna and training some medic-nins but they did not know why they needed the hole team if Sakura was more than capable of traveling by herself for a mission like that.

But that did not matter because in fact Sasuke Uchiha was glad to be in this mission, he needed to get things straight but most than anything he needed to confirm he was being ignored and more importantly why.(whispers to himself)" I got to talk to her" (shuts his eyes and thinks ) _…-Sakura why are you avoiding me?_

Sasuke was a proud man , he would never admit the fact that not seeing Sakura was starting to annoy him to death, back in their Gening days , he was the one doing the hiding and the avoiding, not the other way around dammit!.

 _-Why am I worrying so much about this_

Naruto may be a not so smart kind of a guy, he was more the type of person that will do things without thinking, Hell most of the time all he was thinking about was ramen, but even he could tell the acts of frustration his friend was having, like the tightening of his clench jaw, or the way he would space out into the clouds (Shikamaru style) while tightening his folded arms, and who would not be able to see the big , huge pulsing vein popping out of the left side of his forehead.

Yup.. Naruto also knew what was all that about, but he was not going to press the matter any further, in a way he kind of enjoyed it.

Many , many nights he saw his other best friend suffering for this guy, the same or even more pain in the eyes the girl always hold, and it pained him to no end because there was nothing he could do when she was in pain, Even after he promised her he would bring him back, and that did not went well because truth was Sasuke came back on his own after he killed his brother.

But he could not help but enjoy it…it did not meant he was evil, but heck he saw how this girl cried herself to sleep every single night for almost 3 years ever since Sasuke left to seek power for his revenge _-Serves you right_ (he tough to himself)

It was no secret that Naruto was on love with Sakura for most of his young life, but he also knew that she would never return his feelings, the moment she told him she loved him and to stop looking for Sasuke because she was sure it was a lost cause, he understood that she loved him to no end, and it killed him even more. But Naruto understood that she did love him even though it would only be as a brother, and he promised himself that he would never let her have her heart played with.

It also frustrated him to know that now that she seemed sad but more at ease this Teme wanted to have her attention, just because he was being ignored.

Naruto did not know Sasuke's real intentions or feelings towards his Sakura-Chan. To him it did not seemed fair.

When they rescued Sakura he was expecting her to run to Sasuke , but instead he noticed that something was different about her. The moment she ran and collapsed against Itachi's almost dead body she cried so much, and he could have sworn he heard Itachi telling her he loved her, but he was not sure.

He also saw how her eyes held anger and maybe some hate when her head turned to face Sasuke, they looked the same way Sasuke's eyes looked when he spoke about his brother.

But then again how can he think about such things if he was such a Dobe like Sasuke always stated …right?.

Than after a few seconds Sakura and Kakashi were on sight. At that moment Sakura greeted everyone, even Sasuke but Naruto could see her smile was kind of sad, even Sai gave her a weird look as if saying that smile is fake and you been crying, But Naruto was not going to say a thing because he knew Sakura and he also knew if she wanted him to know she'll tell him herself.

And than they all entered the Hokage's office for the debrief mission to star, of course Sasuke was very uncomfortable about Sakura being so damn formal.

"Ok now that finally everyone is here we can star, … this mission is very important and as you can see it requires the best ," said Tsunade looking at everyone .

"You mean everyone else is out on different mission's right baa-Chan?" Naruto interrupted with his loudness

(Twitch twitch)"That is not of importance, ..Sakura, you are to go to Suna and assist the Kazekage to train his new medical recruits, he will tell you other functions once you are there, as of you three the Kasekage informed me that he will need you three as well and he also requested team 8 for this important mission… seems it has to do with Orochimaru,(looks at her desk) The details of this mission are not allowed to be discuss here, so once you get to Suna Gaara will explain everything… (hands each one of them their scrolls) these scrolls are transportation scrolls that will transport you automatically to out hospital unit in case of an emergency and this one (gives scroll to Kakashi) is for you to report to me every single detail of the mission."

" You will leave at once after we are done here, team 8 will meet you in Suna in a week from today, the mission is classified as an S-rank and the time is not specified , by the way Gaara explained it,it might take a year alone for the training alone of the medics in Suna Sakura, he specifically asked for you since you are my apprentice, … but I believe it's because the Sabbaku siblings knows you and feel more comfortable with you… they trust you.."smiles at her.

Everyone was already tense enough when they heard the name of Orochimaru, all they knew about him is that Kabuto some way brought him back using Anko's curse mark and he helped on the war at some point, more specifically he helped only Tsunade… after that he disappeared and no one had heard about him till now …but this did not bother Sakura at all.. At least not as much, what she was worried about was her pregnancy and if she was to be a year in Suna more than likely she could give birth there..She was nervous , no one knew or suspects anything..heck she did not even knew if she wanted to tell anyone …she was scared, nervous, and happy, not to mention damn well that she was confused… she noticed Sasuke and she knew she could not keep ignoring him.

But now that she looked at him… _-Are those dark circles around his eyes?. seems like he was having it worse than her, maybe he missed his brother, maybe he felt guilty?..._ She could not help but wonder his response once he found out she was having Itachi's baby.

-" _Oh..God… Orochimaru is going to know another Uchiha is on the way if Sasuke finds out!_!-

At that moment Sakura made the decision of not telling Sasuke he will be an uncle.

"Ok..Is everything clear?" Tsunade interrupted her train of thoughts

Everyone "Hai"

"Ok than Dismissed."

And off to Suna they when.

XxX

The trip to Suna went by fast, Sakura was acting as normal as she could. Arguing with Sai and Naruto most of the time, talking to Kakashi about why he got lost on the path of life while taking a pee and making them an hour late, but the only difference was every time Sasuke was near she kept finding the most beautiful clouds and spacing off..

"Finally…Suna, Oh I soo need a shower and maybe some Ramen, and some miso soup, and some dango ...O Gosh I would kill for dango."

"You will be ugly and fat in no time" said Sai.

Glares " Well It does not matter … I am the Hokage's apprentice of course I know how to get rid of the extra weight _-Oh gosh am I already getting fat?! ,or is it because I ate all of Naruto's ramen bowls at night and blame it on him?_

On the way to the Kazekage's tower from the gate Sasuke made many attempt to speak to Sakura, attempts that Sakura herself could no longer keep avoiding.

"Sakura, I need to have a word with you" Sakura turned to look at Sasuke and when their eyes meet she nodded.

"Yeah, I think we do need to talk Sasuke, but not now ok let's wait till night "

Sasuke agreed to that, but now he felt confused because for the first time since his arrival Sakura had never even once spoken to him, and now that she did her tone was kind of off, indifferent and deep down it down right scared him, maybe he did not want to talk to her after all. _But I need to know if there is something wrong, why is she so upset, I mean yeah I did tried to kill her once … ok maybe twice but I apologized…why can't she look at me the same way as before?_

"Ok, I'll come to your room tonight" and Sakura hoped he will somehow forget and not show off, she was not sure what they would talk about but one think they would not talk about was her baby.

 **XxX**

Inside the Kazekage's office Gaara greeted team Kakashi with Kankuro and Temari, each of them were standing on either side of him with faces that resembled nothing more than worry, and concern.

Naruto being the knucklehead ninja that he was did not noticed the worried looks on the Sabbacu siblings and ignoring Gaara's position as the Kazekage went straight to hug his friend.

"Gaara! It 's been a while, you know you should come visit us more often, I've been dying to train with you… anyways what is the matter, your face looks paler than usual"

At this point Kakashi interfered placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave him a shut-your-mouth-this-is-important type of look that would even make Sasuke flinch.

That's when Gaara greeted everyone and gave them all the bad news.

 **(A/N Ok here is another chapter please let me know what you think sorry I took so long on updating hope you enjoy and please read and review, your comments mean a lot to me)**


	3. Chapter 3

**MENDING THE PEACES**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWE NARUTO … IF I DID; THERE WOULD BE More ROMANCE… AND SAKURA WOULD RESPECT HER SELF MORE.**

 **(A/N ok my dear friends , you have no idea how much I love to hear you guys reviews, sorry it's been taking me forever to update, I am having problems with my computer, anyways….I need you guys help.**

 **My plot is of course Sakura falls in love again but I do not know with whom. So a friend of mine suggested asking you guys. Here are my options. And that's how I know how to continue with the story.**

 **You guys can vote, it will end on the 3** **rd** **chapter that's when I will make my decision**

 **Here are the options:**

 **SASUKE, GAARA, KAKASHI, DEIDARA, AND HIDAN.**

 **So here they are let me know.**

 **CHAPTER 2. FRIENDSHIP AND DANGER**

Cold stone and hard, those are the best words to describe the expression on Gaara's face , and for those that know him they know he hardly shows any, but after he told us what was the matter my face was just like his.

"Seems that we have spotted Orochimaru and Kabuto near Suna. And we have also confirmation that after the war was over he continued with his experiments to perfect his immortal jutsu" Gaara was looking at Sasuke ,than turned his head to Kakashi.

"Seems like he has already perfected this and is looking for his next vessel,(looks back at Sasuke) and I do believe that we need to take care of this problem, that's why I require your help" looks at Naruto.

Kakashi's face was expressionless ,and as he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder he interrupted Gaara with a monotone voice.

"I see , I understand, we will do all we can to assist, this is more of a problem to us than Suna (looks at Sasuke , Naruto and Sakura) and we will do everything you ask of us Kazekage-Sama"

Gaara understood what he meant, he knew team Kakashi would want in on it, but he also needed her help most of all, that's why he asked for her specifically .(turns to look at Sakura)

"That's why I need the help of Akatsuki as well" (His face turned colder, he kept his gaze locked on hers)

"They might have information on Orochimaru's hideouts,(looks at Sasuke) even the ones you don't know, Sakura that's why I need you as well"

Suddenly she understood what he meant, out of everyone she is the only one that traveled with Akatsuki while they had her captive, but most of the times she was with Itachi, other than Kisame she did not know much about their whereabouts but she will try, besides she was excited to see them as well.

In her mind she knew the first place to star would be with Nagato and Konan in Rain, so she looked at Gaara and nodded in agreement.

After Akatsuki helped on the war they gained pardon from all the ninja villages and each took their own path, she also remembered Kisame mentioned that he would be by the shored of Cloud near the ocean , suddenly her face turned a shade of sadness , because Kisame reminded her of Itachi so much .

Her eyes started to get clouded by her tears but she was strong and held them back, _no one will see me cry anymore._ She told herself .

Gaara noticed that because he was still looking at her, even though he was not the type of person to show any emotions he knew the signs of sadness in her, this girl sure is different that anyone, she had become one of her special people because not only he remembered how they meet before the chunning exams, he remembers how she stood in front of Sasuke when he was fighting with him.

He also knew that it was because of her that Naruto beat him, yeah sure Naruto was trying to protect Sasuke , but it was Sakura that motivated him, because she was about to die crushed in between his sand, _I have never apologized for that ._

He was so grateful to her because he learned that it was her who cured Kankuro, and it was her that kept lady Chyo safe from Sasori of the red sand, and that alone was the reason he was now breathing , _I thanked Naruto but I have not thanked her, at least not properly._

 **xXx**

The news Gaara gave them about Orochimaru took team Kakashi by surprise, because they never expected this to happened and it hit them like a bucket of cold ice water, but Kakashi was not worried that much for Sasuke because he knew that Sasuke was way stronger than Orochimaru, And he knew the Sanning would not make the mistake twice, Sasuke was older now, so if he tried to take his body he will only fail, besides was it not the age issue why he decided Sasuke instead of Itachi.?

Everyone knew that Itachi was the first option for Orochimaru, but since he could not get him because Itachi was way more powerful than him he decided to take Sasuke, suddenly Kakashi remembered something important.

"Kazekage do you know more about the jutsu? Who is your informant? and can we get in touch with him?"

The question took Gaara by surprise and he tore his gaze from Sakura and turned to Kakashi.

"All I know for now is that the jutsu needs to be done once and Orochimaru will not need another vessel again, his body will be immortal he will not age, nor will he die, (his gruff voice gave a hint of urgency) My informant is Kabuto, he wants to help us by keeping an eye on Orochimaru, ( he turned to Naruto as if predicting the concern on his eyes) I did not believed him at first for obvious reasons, and I still don't , but there is no reason for him to lie, all he said was that his eyes were now open, and that he had been finally bought back home, I don't know what that meant but he felt real, Kabuto will be back to report again in a month for a report." this time his eyes whent back to kakashi as is predicting more questions, but the questions were not directed to Gaara this time.

"Sasuke , have you been Sexually active?" Kakashi asked him as if he was asking for him to pass the salt.

At first Sasuke glared at him , all eyes were on him this time, even Sakura's _Great just great,.. just when I was about to talk to Sakura this question is asked…wait, why should I care , it is none of their business … and I don't care if Sakura finds out,_ with great indifference Sasuke answered his question " It's none of your business"

"The teme just don't want to admit he is still a virgin… Kakashi – sensei. But anyways why are you asking" Naruto interrupted with a wide smile on his face, Naruto assumed everyone was a Virgin just because he was one.

Sasuke deadpanned and then furiously gave Naruto a Shut-your-mouth-or-I'll-shove-a-chidory-up-your-ass type of look.

"I don't see why this is relevant Kakashi" Sasuke turned to look at the copy ninja.

"well, it is obvious that Orochimaru can't posses you because you are stronger than him, that is why I am asking you if you had sex with anyone, because if you did than there is a possibility that there might be a young Uchiha on the way, and he would be the perfect candidate for Orochimaru, And I do remember that red head you had on your team, if you did anything with her and she is pregnant she and your child might be in danger,( Kakashi's eyes turned stone cold and serious) you know Orochimaru wants to posses the sharingan to learn all the jutsus he can"

After hearing this Sakura felt her world collapsing . _no not again, that snake will be after my child, that damn snake will ruin my life a second time!,… no … I will not allowed it, I am not the same as before, I am stronger and I will find him first and kill him. He . will. Not. Touch. My. BABY!_

Placing a hand unconsciously on her flat stomach Sakura promised herself that definitely no one will know the entity of the father of her child, and she will become even stronger that she already was, because no one will hurt her kid. Unconsciously a protective chakra layer surrounded the embryo, protecting her unborn child from any type of danger, like a shield.

"I have no child anywhere out there if that's what you mean, I have not decided to resurrect my clan , not yet" Sasuke answered, and after that Sakura heard him arguing with Naruto and Sai, but this type she was not really paying attention, she had other things to worry about, and the least of her worries was how Naruto was making fun of a virgin Uchiha, or Sai explaining about small dicks not doing it correctly as the books said.

She did not notice that she was not the only one not paying attention to her team.

Four pairs of eyes where now looking at her , three of them looked worried, and one looked rather angry.

 **XxX**

Sakura looked at Gaara making him snap from his trance, he was worried , now he understood that the need to finish Orochimaru was a top priority , _I will not let any of my precious persons suffer_ ," That is all the Information I have for now". Naruto, Sasuke and Sai stopped their arguing and turned to look at him.

"There are rooms ready for each one of you in our home no need to pay for inns , all of you will stay with us here in the Kazekage tower,Sakura you will report to me tomorrow so we can discuss your schedule in the hospital , thank you for accepting."

"no problem Kazekage-Sama I am glad to help" she smiled at him.

"Gaara" he told her.

"?"

"It's just Gaara please, all of you are my friends, my position changes nothing our friendship, " his lips curled up a small fraction as if trying his hardest to smile, and Sakura could never have imagined to ever see Sabbaku no Gaara trying to smile. _He has changed so much, Naruto can change people's hearts no doubt, and I am happy we have him as a friend and that he is ok, and that I helped with that._

She smiled again , and her eyes soften, forgetting the worries she carried for a fraction of a moment , and she turned to him to thank him for his help and his concern, because she knew why Gaara was taking care of this Orochimaru issue as his own. _He doesn't want Naruto to worry , or to lose Sasuke again."_ ok , Gaara thank you very much for everything , I will see you tomorrow.

And with that team Kakashi took off to their rooms.

 **A/N well here is a small chapter for you guys hope you all liked it. And read and review , let me know if any of this makes sense , or not , but I really want to know who is best for our Sakura…well until next time …**


	4. Chapter 4

**MENDING THE PEACES**

 **DISCLAIMER-DO NOT OWE NARUTO…WISH I DID.**

CHAPT ER 3. WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

Sakura is tired, scared and upset, she does not know why life seems to always come back and bite her in the ass.

 _Yup, I said it once and I'll say it again,_ _ **Destiny hates me with a vengeance.**_

Once Matsuri showed everyone to their respective rooms, all Sakura could do was lean on the door after shutting it close, she could not believe why Kami hated her so.

She looked around her room. _This is where we will be living for the next year-_

The room was very spacious, way bigger than her whole apartment in back in Konoha, it was beautiful, and the bed was really big placed on the center of the room. _Is that bigger than a king size bed?_

The bed seemed very luxurious, decorated with blue and gold silk sheets and lots, lots of pillows matching the sheets, all of them of different shapes and sizes, on the left side of the room there was the biggest window shed ever seen inside a room, it almost occupy the whole wall, the curtains that adorned it where the same dark pale blue with gold as the sheets of the bed, her own bathroom big as well , and lots of drawers for her clothes.

Sakura returned her gaze to the window, it seemed to have a crystal door. _A balcony_ , Great she told herself, _this means free entrance for Naruto… I'll have to set up kunai traps on the door._

Sakura walked through the room, watching everything mentally tired, as she was walking ,she dropped her backpack at the feet of the bed and walked to get to the balcony , it was already dark outside, and the village of Suna looked magical under the light of the silver moon.

 _It's beautiful I think that besides the heat Suna would be a good home,*shivers* it's starting to get cold_. She hold herself as if protecting her womb from the chilly breeze.

She was leaning on the balcony looking down, than she turned around and noticed a small table and chairs right next to the door so she sat down, than her eyes looked up at the sky. She could not help but notice the twinkling star that was shining rather beautifully next to the moon, it was the shine of the star that helped her remember of a certain man.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _ **Sakura…**_ _if you pay attention you could see it, It's the biggest star next to the moon. The one that shines the most"_

 _All Itachi was receiving from Sakura were glares._

" _Look…I can't see anything you damn Uchiha!(more glares)Now tell me what is it you want so I can go back to my cell… and stop treating me like a damn child!"_

 _He looked up at the sky and his stoic features suddenly turned to the softer expression she had ever seen on his expressionless face. So she turned to him and said._

" _Besides , you can't even see it…Well at least not yet…maybe in the next couple of sessions, we only started 3 days ago"_

 _She turned back to the moon because she honestly could not see the star Itachi was mentioning, Until she felt strong fingertips holding her chin adjusting her face, and then she saw what he was talking about.(Why is he this way? why is he being so nice? He killed his clan and destroyed Sasuke's life, Why is he showing me this?)_

" _Do you see it now?" she heard him say_

" _Yes" was all she could answer_

" _Good…I cannot see it anymore, but I can remember it very well, Shisui and I used to play at the pound in the compound where everyone used to practice fire jutsu, and we used to try and count stars, but when we found this one we stopped the way it shined made us forget everything, training rules duty, we were just us, two kids looking at the sky, We called it_ _ **SIRIOUS**_ _(dog star) because it was huge like some of the Inuzuka ninkens ,And the first time I saw you back in wind, your eyes reminded me of that star, the way they shined with determination, it was all I could see because I was almost blind back then, so I decided to show you it"_

 _Than his fingers slipped from her chin, and she found herself missing the big warm sensation he was providing her._

 _Then she remembered she loved Sasuke and having these emotions towards the big bad brother was not good._

 _So, she turned to him and with the coldest tone she could muster she told him._

" _if that's all you bought me here for…than I rather go back inside…stop wasting my time"_

" _Sakura…someday you will know…but not today" Then Itachi went back to his stoic mask and started walking back inside away from her._

 _(The creep left me out here!)"H-hey… wait up, y-you don't just leave me standing here… Itachi!"_

 _And she followed him back inside the Akatsuki hide out, not noticing that she could have escaped, not noticing that the reason Itachi brought her outside was to release her._

 _But she ran, and ran towards him without noticing all those things._

 _(Foolish little girl) Itachi thought to himself._

 _ **End of Flashback**_

Sakura did not notice that her cheeks started to get wet, and then she lifted her hand towards her cheek and she noticed that she was crying. _Itachi … you were trying to tell me back then weren't you?... and I-I was so stupid and heartless … I'm sorry… I-I miss you Itachi … I miss you so much…_

She turned her gaze towards the star and started to wonder if somewhere in the sky Itachi was looking at her, watching over her, so she started talking … not to the star itself, but to the person she loved, the person that changed her whole life.

"Oh… Itachi…I'm so tired of it all… I'm so tired of being here … I'm being suppressed by my childhood fears all over again... Why did you have to leave… Sorry for being so selfish, I wish that you were here… Somehow I still feel your presence still lingers here." she suddentle pressed her palm against her chest where her heart should be.

"But my wounds can't heal" _my pain is still so real. There's just too much of it Itachi, and I don't even think that time will be able to erase this pain_."I-I still remember the time when you cried at night, and how I wiped your tears away, and I know that I made you doubt your choices, your decisions and the love towards your brother"

"I also… also remember the nightmares that you had… So I tried to help you fight away your fears, reassuring you that everything would be ok…I held your hand trough all those months we spent together… Itachi but now… now you are no longer here."

She cried and cried so much without making a sound, she was remembering the love she had, because on those months she was so very happy, and Itachi Uchiha made her fall in love with him, and she was accepted, he accepted and welcomed her love, when all she always knew nothing more than rejection… rejection from Sasuke.

And now all she had were his memories, so she closed her eyes trying to calm herself down and remembered the man that with his intimidating gaze used to captivate her with the resonating light that he used to walk with around, There was always something about Itachi Uchiha that had a touch of light to him.

Not darkness … but light , she should have known.

And she was also upset because he left, he was no longer there… and now she was bound to him… bound by the life he left behind.

But she was upset, not for the outcome, but because she was scared, she was afraid for their child.

Sakura knows that once she falls asleep, she will see him again, because his face still haunts her most pleasant dreams, and in her dreams every time she hears him say _"I love you…my sweet Sakura"_ his voice chaises away all the sanity in her.

And she wishes it was not a dream.

So she tries not to wake up.

Tsunade will never know the real reason she is always late ever since they got back to Konoha after the rescue was because she wished to never wake up. So she always did what she did best.

Blame it on Kakashi-sensei

Sakura opened her eyes and looked back at the star and wonder if the reason it shined more now that before was because of Itachi's unmistakable shine.

"Itachi, I have tried to tell myself that you are gone, and tough you are still with me in soul, I somehow know that I been alone all along, because from the beginning (her voice cracked) I-I knew I would lose you at the end… but now… now I'm going to have your baby…and I-I can't help b-but blame him…a-and now… our baby is in danger"

 **Knock knock knock knock**

 _I completely forgot that Sasuke was coming over to talk,…Gosh I can't do this… not tonight!...I'll just tell him we will talk tomorrow, besides I'm way too tired for anything else._

So she gather chakra on her palms and tried to get rid of her puffy eyes, wiped her tears away, looked herself in the mirror on the room, and swung the door open ready to get rid of Sasuke…

"Sasuke I ca—" but she was taken by surprise , because she was staring at some rather angry pair of mismatched eyes…

"Kakashi"

(A/N ok ok I updated twice today …I was sitting at starbucks listening to one of my favorites songs Evanescence-My Immortal and I got inspired…so I used a couple of lyrics for inspiration, please read and review and don't forget to vote.. all I have so far is one vote for Gaara so please vote) 


	5. Chapter 5

**MENDING THE PIECES**

 **A/N : THANK YOU ALL FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT MY STORY IS RECEIVING , I am so happy you guys like it, I have many people following my story now that's why I decided to update sooner, I tried making this chapter a little bit longer but decided to leave it as is .**

 **The votes for the main male character are**

 **GAARA 2**

 **HIDAN 1**

 **Please vote so that way I know what you guys like and why should Gaara be the best match for this Sakura.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I STILL DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF HIS CHARACTERS.**

* * *

CHAPTER 4. UNDERNEATH THE UNDERNEATH

* * *

I was upset; yes I was, because she should have known better. And now we have this whole Orochimaru business pending on us, Will she be ok while we search for Akatsuki?

God I'm getting too old for this,…I guess this is why she's been acting out of character … well my damn curiosity just banished … is this why she's been avoiding Sasuke?...is it because it's Sasuke's… no, that's not it. The baby is probably Itachi's … I guess all I can do for now is wait for her to tell me…

She's not going to tell me is she? GOD THIS IS WHY I NEVER HAD KIDS!

Kakashi was looking the way Sakura was protectively holding her belly after he mention the danger Sasuke's kid could be facing IF he had any.

What trigger his attention towards her was the strong chakra signature that was radiating from her, the way her eyes looked at the moment reminded him of the day they looked when Sasuke and Naruto were fighting on top of the hospitals building. She was scared and now he understood why.

Of course he was upset; he's known this girl since she was 12yrs old.

He had watch her grow and become the strong kunoichi she is now, even though she does not possess any kekkei genkai or comes from a recognized clan, she was just the daughter of civilians, and she had come so far, becoming almost , no , better that the Hokage herself.

She had surpassed Tsunade on the war, and now she carried the blue diamond on her forehead.

He was proud of her.

He had always been by her side ever since her parents passed away on the attack the village received from Orochimaru while the chunning exams were taking place.

He became the fatherly figure soon after that…well, not the father figure, perhaps the big brother…he is not that old.

The point is he has always been there for her, and she has always been there for him too, after Sasuke left and Naruto also left them to train to become stronger Kakashi and Sakura were left behind. Sakura began training under Tsunade and Kakashi always left for s-rank missions, but when he was home he was always with her, helping her, training her to become better on taijutsu, sometimes he was her guinea pig , she would practice her healing jutsu on him.

Hatake Kakashi will never admit how upset he felt when he smelled certain Uchiha's sent all over her,

To him she will always be the sweet little girl he used to sit with on top of the Hokage's monument sharing and enjoying a comfortable silence, her reading her medic's scroll and him reading his Icha-Icha.

The day she was capture by that horrible man eating plant, he almost died trying to rescue her, but Sakura will never know that he was in a coma for almost a whole month.

The moment he woke up to find out she was gone; it was Obito and Rin all over again.

He felt he failed her, not only as her sensei but as a friend too. He failed to keep her safe.

When they finally rescued her (or so they thought) he felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders when his eyes meet whit hers, He was so glad she was ok...she was heartbroken but ok. And because of that he hated Itachi Uchiha at that moment.

Because no one else but him (or maybe Naruto) knew how emotionally unstable she was ever since Sasuke abandoned her on that bench. But she pulled trough.

But…now, how was he going to be able to protect her from this? If...he was not able to protect her back then.

Kakashi now realized he was not upset… he was scared…scared for her.

And he definitely needed to talk to her, not only to calm her down, but to let her know she was not alone, at least he will not let her get hurt again , even if it cost his life.

So he decided to go see her right after everyone was off to sleep.

* * *

 **XxX**

* * *

The moment she open the door, he noted right away the puffiness on her eyes, the way her green orbs were a tad darker than her usual shine…she was crying, And he felt upset, not at her but at life itself. _Hadn't she had enough suffering in her young life?_

"Kakashi" he hear her say, pulling him away from his thoughts, than he noticed she was expecting someone else. _Maybe Sasuke?_

"Are you expecting someone?" he asked so that way he would know if he would have time to talk, he did not wanted to have anyone eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Well, yes …S-Sasuke…he wanted to talk to me…but… I-I really don't feel like talking… I'm hoping he forgets…I'm tired and need a shower"

He noticed she was also trying to get rid of him too, but what he wanted to discuss was important, and he wanted to make sure she was ok, so he decided to go straight to the point.

Making some signs to make their conversation soundproof inside her room he said.

"Sakura… "I know"

She looked at him suspiciously and asked him to come in; she feared what it was about.

Closing the door behind them she said "what do you mean you know? _Oh no! Gosh he found out… I'm dead…What should I do? …_ So, you know then"

"Mhmm" was all he said, he wanted to hear from her, so he could assess how she felt about the situation.

"Kaka-sensei… I'm sorry… I should have told you as soon as it happened"

 _Oh, so she admits it, but she couldn't have known as soon as it happened… no I must let her know its ok, she's not alone in this_

"Really… I didn't mean too…honestly… (Looks at her feet) I understand if you hate me now"

He stopped her and pulled her to a chaste embrace, placing one of his hands on top of her hair ruffling it, the same way he did when she found out her parents passed away.

And now he embraced her as if trying to shield her from any danger from the world, he smelled her salty cheeks and the fear she felt.

"Sakura, it's ok, everything is going to be alright" he whispered to the top of her head.

She looked up locking eyes with his, her eyes looked blurry as if trying to suppress her tears and told him.

"Kaka-sensei…It was an accident..., I promise I-I'll pay you back for it… Or I'll look for a copy here …I bet Suna has the same copy too… I mean Jiraya-Sama must have had published it…I'm sure your copy is not the only one"

He suddenly stiffened _.What?!_

"I promised Naruto I would not tell you" _Naruto?_ He tensed.

"Sakura, What do you mean?" he asked her very much confused.

She turned away from him ,taking a few steps towards the bed , and sat down at the edge of it, she reached for her back pack and took out something that was in no way shape or form recognizable and it smelled like burned paper, So when she looked back at him she also held confusion in her features.

"About your book… Of course …Kakashi, what did you mea- _Oh crap!"_ Now she was nervous

 _My book? What does it have to do with—oh no!_

Kakashi suddenly reached for his back pouch pocket, now noticing the loss of weight his most valuable possession used to make on it.

Sakura was very confused and on denial.

"You mean... you didn't know…w-we innocently took it to look at it and accidently ended up in the fire while we camped? while Naruto and Sai argued about who would read it first ?"

Now Kakashi felt like the world would collapse any minute now. _Oh God the … pain...the pain._

 _Icha-Icha…I-Is … w-was BURNED!_

Sakura could have sworn she saw a very small tear rolling down Kakashi's masked face.

 _But If he is not here to murder me for this…than why...is he—HOLY MOLLY!_

* * *

 **XxX**

* * *

Sakura did not know how she could react to this, should she scream, run, punch, or act normal, she was in a complete shock.

What she did know and understood, was that now her secret was out, and that sooner or later she needed to tell him everything about it, because he would not leave until she told him everything.

So she gathers all the courage within her, and decided that tonight Hatake Kakashi would know everything…everything… But…But how… how do you tell your sensei about it? How do you tell him you don't regret anything, how do you explain to him that you fell in love with the man that was supposed to be the enemy? How do you face the man that took care of you all these years, the only one that never abandoned you, the one that loved you as if you were part of his family?

The man that let you inside and showed you what lay behind his mask. (Well not literally but that's the idea) the man that shared with you his feelings, his fears, the man that would not let anyone close.

How does he feel? _because_ he clearly said he know.

Is he mad? is he disappointed?, Is he as confused and scared as she felt when she found out?

So she finally brushed away her fear and stood up to face him.

Then she remembered he was no longer standing, so she got to her knees and reached for the man that was laying on the floor, clearly with a faced that looked as a silinced scream (imagine the face from the horror movie scream) he was on complete shock.

"Kaka-sensei"

Silence

"Sensei"

Nothing

"I'm ready to talk once you feel better…I-I think I know now what you were here for"

Silence

"I'll be taking a shower and give you time to cope…s-so when I get out we can t-talk"

Even though his eyes were open, Kakashi of the sharingan, the copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake was not responding, it was just too much for one day

 _I'm getting too old for this_

 _ **XxX**_

 _In the past I made many mistakes._

 _I let darkness and vengeance guide my judgment._

 _And because of that I lost the last and most important member of my family._

" _Itachi"_

 _Sometimes While I'm alone in the big mansion inside the Uchiha compound I think about what it would have happened if instead of leaving to reach power I would have chosen to stay with her the night she confessed her undying love._

" _Would you still be here Nii-San?"_

 _At that precise moment my mind was clouded with revenge, hurt, anger, and of course the need of power._

" _You should have told me"_

 _When I saw her crying and confessing how she would make me happy if I choosed to stay I couldn't help but feel like scum, She knew I was leaving and she knew why, And I couldn't help but see my younger self in her the night Itachi left._

" _Did you felt the same way Nii-san, unsure, sad, and powerless?"_

 _At that moment I knew if I stayed she WOULD make me happy, heck she was the only one that made me strong enough to control the damn seal, just by looking at those green eyes full of tears and panic. I knew than that it would not be fair to bound her to a broken man like me, I could not make her happy, and I had goals to meet._

 _She deserved someone better, someone that loved her like she deserved someone like the Dobe._

 _I needed to make her understand , to tell her I appreciated her undying friendship that I felt honored to be loved by her._

 _I needed to let her know I did not deserve someone with her shine, I needed for her to know I couldn't love._

 _I needed…needed to tell her many things_

 _So all I said was_

' _Thank you, Sakura'_

 _Almost 3 years passed till I saw her again, All that time I knew they were looking for me, I can't lie A very small part of my old self was excited to see them as well… to see her again… But I was not the same foolish kid that left the village, I had become the avenger I was so eager to be all those years ago._

 _But…_

 _I was curious, I wanted to see how strong she had gotten with the years …How much had Naruto trained … How much they had learned in all those years. I wanted to test their power…but then…then her eyes locked with mine._

 _And she said my name, I knew then that she still cared for me… that she still loved me._

 _So she reminded me again of that scared little boy I was before, so I made a choice._

 _I decided to show her the real me (or so I thought) because I was no longer the Genning she fell in love with (I was trying to convince myself) I needed to severe those bonds with her and Naruto._

 _So I attacked Naruto first_

" _Is that why all those times you attacked me too ,Itachi?"_

 _Than Sai intervene and the unexpected happened. Sakura was moving to attack me , I got exited. I sensed her power, a monstrous rise on her strength. So I decided to show her MY power, the reason I left them…left her (maybe then she would convince herself and let me be) and Yamato interrupted… and deep down inside I was very ,very glad._

 _So I showed her again who I was by stabbing Yamato, because in reality I did not want to hurt her. But I needed her to stop loving me .In a way her feelings scared me (maybe because I felt the same?)_

 _But now everything has changed, and ultimately I got what I wished for, and now I would forever regret it._

" _What have I done?"_

 _Itachi ,my brother , my savior, my family , is gone._

 _Sakura and Naruto my teammates , my commarades , my friends, they are still here._

 _But somehow I feel Sakura is gone, like she is not here._

" _No"_

 _I want what we had, our friendship, I want Sakura back._

" _I need to see her"_

Sasuke was heading to Sakura's room, he was nervous, every time he would get close to the hallway that lead to her room he would turn around and walk away. _What can I tell her, HOW should I talk to her._

He was very hesitant , but he needed to get this over with , somehow he needed to fix things. So he made up his mind. He rose his hand to knock on the door when someone interrupted him . _damn what does he want!_

"Teme" He stopped and turns to face Naruto.

"Naruto"

The blond walked to him and his face was serious and in a monotone iced voice he said.

"What do you think you are doing looking for Sakura-Chan so late at night?"

The Uchiha did not believe he needed to give excuses of his actions to anyone. So he faced Naruto folding his arms on his chest with a hint of annoyance in his face .

"HN"

"I asked you a question" Naruto glared.

"Is none of your business Dobe" he said in a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Sakura-Chan has been, is , and will always be MY business"

Sasuke noted the seriousness on Naruto's tone so he decided to answer because he felt he was wasting way too much time, when he could already be talking to Sakura in her room , fixing things.

"I came to talk to her, she is expecting me"

Naruto's hand grabbed his arm and pulled him with him away from the door. _What the hell?_

Once Naruto sensed they were out of earshot his features turned even more serious. He let go of Sasuke's arm.

His tone was cold and very un-Naruto like.

"Why can't you just let her rest? She doesn't want to talk to you yet, can't you see? Haven't you noticed?"

Sasuke was now more than annoyed , he knew Naruto had always loved Sakura, but he had thought maybe his infatuation had been nothing but a children platonic crush. And this reaction was clearly upsetting him more than it should.

He looked at him coyly expression on his stoic face, masking his now rising anger.

"You know I been wanting to talk to her ever since we came back from Itachi's funeral (he sighed ,trying to explain was hard) and she's gone out of her way to avoid me… I haven't talk to her at all"

Naruto was contemplating his next question, he did not seem to care for his reasons.

"But why…really Sasuke why( He placed a hand on his shoulder facing him, looking directly at his eyes.) What are your feelings… what do you want with her?( his grip on the Uchiha's shoulder got tighter and his eyes turned to an angry-like-fox-shade-of-red )I will not allow you to hurt her anymore, she has been through enough, (he got closer to him, almost a feet away now) and I will definitely KILL you if you dare to ask her to help you revive your stupid clan( He closed his eyes and his voice relaxed)…at least…at least not if you don't love her."

Sasuke was taken by surprise. _M-My … my feelings?_

He grabbed Naruto's hand and ripped it off of him, with a cold tone and a stoic face ( like it did not hurt) he answered his question in a very Sasuke way.

"I told you, it has nothing to do with you (he said coldly) but if you must know … Naruto, I just want to know why she doesn't want to see me … (he turned towards the far away now hallway) why she looks at me with hate in her eyes.

"Hate?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"HN, that's all I'm telling you" Sasuke turned back to face his blond friend

"Still Sasuke… I can tell you don't know what is it you really want with her… your intentions are not the real motive you want to talk to her (he paused) or better yet… you are on denial…just the same way you did not want to admit all those years ago that you cared for us, no matter how much you tried telling yourself you had no such feelings, do to your revenge, so all that time you just pretended to be annoyed… you pretended to hate us"

Sasuke was losing his patience now.

"What do you mean by that Dobe… why can't you just let me be… I just answered your stupid question (he sighs) Now can you just drop it…I have stuff to do , I did told you she was waiting for me" He was looking straight at him locking eyes with Naruto. _If I have to I'll use my sharingan and go to Sakura , he is waist-_

"You love her" Naruto interrupted his thoughts, saying this not as a question but as a matter of fact.

"But you… you are just so stubborn … and you won't admit it, and the worst is that you know you had always loved her, that's why you didn't took her with you that night, call it what you want Sasuke … you know it's true, you wanted to protect her from your fate, from your mistakes, that's why you always tried to push her away"

He was serious, and his back was now facing Sasuke

"But I feel sorry for you …you know. Because now...now you will feel what I felt all these years…Years of me loving her and her loving you, no matter how much of an asshole you were, no matter how many wrong choices you made…no matter how many times you choosed vengeance over her ( he paused) No matter how much I was there for her…how much I needed to get rid of that void you left on her heart…yes maybe I am jealous…because It was me all the time who wiped her tears…me who slept on her couch after you left her in that bench… I felt like a failure of a friend to her because I could not bring you back"he yelled.

"I feel sorry for you... because now… now Sasuke you got what you always wanted…she doesn't love you any more…you wasted your chance"

Everything Naruto was telling him was true and Sasuke knew it. That's what he was afraid to confirm , so he showed no emotion towards his best friend and did what he did best.

"HN, you are just jealous Dobe" He ignored how serious Naruto was talking to him

"No Sasuke(he snapped) that's why I'm so pissed… . . I didn't , she never lied to me , never gave up on her love towards you, ( he dropped his gaze to the floor and on a very sad tone he managed to keep talking even if it was almost whispers) even when she told me she loved ME. "

Sasuke raised an eyebrow . _What?_

Naruto must have noticed because he turned to look at him same sad expression but his voice was stronger.

"She did it for you ( he smiled a half smile) and for me in a way…She wanted me to stop looking for you, to go back with her because she had finally acknowledge me, you get it( he locked eyes to his) she was willing to be with me because of you, It had been decided to chase you to bring you back ,but not to keep you but to kill you… "

"so I didn't had the chance you deliberately threw away ( his eyes turned red again) and now that she is over you … y-you dare come and DEMAND her undivided attention , not even accepting that you love her, not even with a love promise that she deserves…but because you want your FRIEND back!I will not allow it…If she wants nothing to do with you i will not make her...and so should you"

Naruto tuned again and slowly started walking away

"I care for you Sasuke…You ARE my best friend … but know that Sakura comes first"

"Naru-" He kept walking…today UZUMAKI NARUTO ignored SASUKE UCHIHA

 _That's what I am afraid of_

Sasuke stuffed his hands on his pockets and walked towards Sakura's room.

Before he knocked on the door, his high skilled trained ninja hearing picked up a noise on the inside of her room, but he was not able to tell what the conversation was about, or who was it .

He could hear a woman _must me Sakura_ and a man's voice . _Someone is in there with her but I can't tell who it is._

He quickly masked his chakra and got closer to the door.

 _Damn it! I can't tell who it is._ He suddenly jumped away fading onto the hall on the other side, he needed to find out if the person in there was the reason Sakura stopped loving him. _Why should I care? **he questioned himself**_

He froze when he saw a silver hair copy-nin walking out of her room ,Sakura wearing her bathrobe _she just got out of the shower_.He saw Kakashi stopped midway on the entrance opened his arms and Sakura smashed her body to his saying.

"Thank you Kakashi… I –I"

"Shush" he looked down at her placing a finger on her lips shushing her

"You know I love you no matter what and I will always be here for you"

She nodded in agreement "Now hurry and leave I'll be fine "she kissed him in the cheek.

Sharingan spinning in anger…trying to calm himself… remembering a conversation of a certain blond friend

" _I feel sorry for you because now… now Sasuke you got what you always wanted…she doesn't love you any more…you wasted your chance"_

" _No"_

" _She can't love Kakashi!"_

Sasuke waited to knock on her door.

"Sakura, sorry I was late…I had a complication hope you are still waiting for me"

Suddenly Sasuke hoped the waiting for him did not meant the talk they were going to have about, but about her supposed undying love she claimed to have for him.

 _I hope I'm not too lake Sakura_

 **(A/N OK SO HERE IS THE 4** **TH** **CHAPTER HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY IT , I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING IT ,**

 **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW AND TONT FORGET TO VOTE.**

 **Gaara-Kakashi-Deidara_sasuke-Hidan you choose**


	6. Chapter 6

**MENDING THE PIECES**

 **A/N : So here we go with another chapter…my keyboard is kind of a mess so I apologize up ahead for any misspelling is the laptop… this chapter took me over 2 days to write on my docs… I write on paper than I transfer to the computer so…yeah. Anyways thank you for following my story hope you enjoy.**

 **The votes for the main male character are**

 **GAARA 3**

 **HIDAN 1**

 **SASUKE 1**

 **Please vote so that way I know what you guys like and why should Gaara be the best match for this Sakura because it seems that a lot of people love Gaara for Sakura but who wouldn't want to be with Gaara right lol.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I STILL DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF HIS CHARACTERS.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5. UNEXPECTED**

* * *

"That's how it began"

" **I see"**

"Are you… are you mad at me?"

" ** _No_ …why should I Sakura?"**

"You know why"

" **You were happy…that's all that matters"**

"I still am…in a way but ... I miss him…I knew what I was doing"

" **But you were clearly not expecting this"**

"No I wasn't but I don't regret it…I'm just scared"

" **I see"**

"Are you disappointed?"

" ** _No_! Never"**

"Thank you"

" **?""What for"**

"For always been there for me…on time… when I need you the most"

" **No need for that… Everything will change…are you prepared?**

"No"

" **You'll be ok … I'll be here for you"**

"You always come to my rescue"

"…"

"…"

" **Did you loved him?"**

"Yes, and he loved me back…I still...love...him"

" **I hate him"**

"No you don't"

 **"Hmnp!… well not as much…"**

"…"

" **What are your plans?"**

"I honestly don't know"

" **For now… don't tell anyone"**

"Ok… I know"

" **Ok…Sakura-Chan well I need to sleep … too much for one night"**

"Sorry about your book"

" **Well…I'm still upset at that… but I guess you got punished for that already"**

"?""What you mean?"

" **You get to change poopi diapers"**

"OMG"

" **Yup"**

" **Good night Sakura"**

"Night Kaka-sensei"

* * *

 **XxX**

* * *

After Kakashi left , Sakura was getting ready to go to bed , she was so tired and very exhausted , she pulled out her pajamas , a medium size pink t-shirt and a pair of pink shorts , as soon as her head hit the pillow she heard a knock on the door. _-Sasuke I completely forgot he was coming-._

She grabbed one of the pillows and placed it on her face so that she could muffle the scream of desperation she felt for the lack of rest she could not accomplish .

"Agh! I'm way too tired" she spoke under her pillow.

 _-Maybe if I ignore him he'll go away-_

 **Knock knock** _ **knock**_ **!**

 _-Or not-_

She decided after 2 minutes of constant knocking to get up and open the door for the Uchiha, The look she faced once she open the door was the face of a man that looked nothing like Sasuke, well at least of the Sasuke she was so used to, the Sasuke with no feelings , arrogant with evil chakra was not here, he got replaced by a man that looked worried, a man that seemed was expecting something and most importantly he looked afraid, afraid of rejection maybe.

"Sakura… sorry I was late… I had a small complication. I hope you are still waiting for me…"

He said it like if he meant some different type of waiting but Sakura quickly put those thoughts to the side and gave him the fakest smile possible.

"Sasuke…It's kind of late don't you think? I had a very rough afternoon and I'm very tired…besides I still have to meet up with Gaara in the mor—"- _Damn Kakashi-_ Sasuke thought

"Please Sakura…(he interrupted) this is important"- _It must be. Is very un-Sasuke like to ask…he usually just demands-_

"Ok"

Sakura stepped aside to let him in, and with a soft click Sasuke closed the door behind him..

 _-Sitting here in front of him makes me feel many things, but the strongest of those feelings are not good ,its anger. Anger because it was his choices what took a very gentle soul from this world, It was him who chosed to be an avenger, It was him who chosed to leave the village and his friends to join that damn snake, It was him who chosed to severed the bonds we had-._

 _-And because of those choices… Itachi also made his choice, He choosed die to save him. What Itachi did not foresaw… was us…falling in love with each other was not a choice neither of us had, it just happened. I never felt so much anger in my life… not even towards Orochimaru…why?-_

"Sakura" - _Those eyes-_

"Ok…You have something to say …so let's go to the balcony "

He nodded, she walked to the balcony with Sasuke following behind her, and she strongly believed that once outside the desire to punch a hole through his chest will fade away if she looked towards a certain shiny star. - _Itachi would kill me if I made him have a family reunion-_ she thought darkly.

"You been avoiding me" it was a statement not a question.

"I been very busy at work an-"

"You been avoiding me" he said again cutting her off "why?"

"Sasuke" - _Damn it…why do you have to be so damn direct-._

"Like I said … I been busy , besides why should you care?"

Sasuke was feeling what he never felt before, nervousness, butterflies, he was terrified. He tried very strongly to keep his composure and remain as stoically normal as possible in front of her. Because the feeling he was receiving from her was not something a friend should be feeling, it was something a person feels in a battle field …against an enemy. _-Sakura sees me as an enemy-._

He truly could not blame her… he did try to kill her…

"Sakura …I need to tell you the reason why I did not stay with you…and why I did not let you join me all those years ago"

He walked closer to her and turned to face her, she was not looking at him ,she was looking up at the sky when he started talking.

"Go ahead I won't interrupt…but I honestly don't see the poi-"

"Please Sakura…hear me" he cut her off again.

She turned to face him because she was curious to know what those reasons were, this man decided to leave them (her) behind all those years ago, not that she loved him still, that much she knew, but maybe hearing a little from him would ease the pain and anger she felt towards him, maybe she could try to understand his point of view. - _Besides I promised Kakashi-Sensei I would try to be his friend again, and I'll do it for Itachi as well-._

His hands were tucked away in his pockets , hiding the shakiness he was feeling, all the same also he was remembering his reasons, his reality _his_ choices.

"You have to know that my search for power was always my main goal at the time ( he paused to look at her reactions) those never changed, I needed to become strong enough to kill my brother because of what I tough he did, time passed and I meet you guys, Naruto and you, so I pretended many times that the strength I had was enough… I was content at the time… I got comfortable…the bonds I was forming with team 7 seemed enough at the time ( he sighed) Until that day…I felt powerless to protect Naruto - _to protect YOU-_ against my brother or Orochimaru."

He closed his eyes and she could have sworn she saw tears forming before he closed them.

"It was the same way I felt the day I saw my parents dead …lying right under his feet… - _so I couldn't pretend anymore Sakura-(_ he tough to himself) I needed power but…(He took a step closer to her) when you asked me to stay …(he opened his eyes) to be with you…I hesitated…y-you were in love with an idea of me…you never really knew who I WAS…but I knew…I knew if I stayed or if I allowed you to come along with me…I would have become the worst part of you…at that moment Sakura I could not love you because I did not know how to, my heart was blinded with hate ( he closed his eyes again) and I still…still don't know how to love I sitill can't understand my feelings...but I do know that I need to fix my friendship with you,at least foor now"

The last words were almost a whisper but she heard them right.

"The important thing is Sasuke that I know you can't love …why are you here…telling me all of this?"

"Why do you care what I think?" she whispered .

She slowly backed away from him, folding her arms to her chest and returning her eyes to the sky.

"I mean… it's been a long time Sasuke … I don't harbor those feelings anymore"

It was really hard for her to be in front of him, the only reason she avoided any contact with the Uchiha was because she blamed him. Deep down she just wanted to be angry at him because anger kept her away from going insane from grief. But now everything was different, everything was changing.

She stood there listening to him , he told her how much regret he felt for killing his brother, how much it pained him to know the truth, how much the truth devastated him to the point he felt obliged to take revenge on all of Konoha, at that confession Sakura stiffen, than she noticed Sasuke closing distance on them, grabbing a hold on both her arms, keeping his onyx eyes locked on her emerald ones.

"I made the correct choice than (he assured her noting why she worried), I followed a path my brother would have approved of… after all everything he did he did do it for Konoha, he was a shinobi of the leaf…. So I settled for killing Danzo and removed Shisui's eye from his corpse,(Only Sasuke would say that and make it sound normal) but that was all I did (sighs) I stopped looking for revenge Sakura, and I decided to mend the bonds I broke"

 _-It won't be that easy Sasuke…I can forgive … but I can't forget-._

"I understand Sasuke, Naruto…he will always be there for you, you know… he never gave up on you…"

He let go of her stepping away from her.

"And you…what about you Sakura, I want to know the truth…I don't expect you to love me still… at least not after all I have done to you and Naruto ( and Itachi Sakura thought) but be honest as to why you been avoiding me all of this time, why you have so much hate towards me"

"I don't hate you Sasuke"she lied a little - _At least not that much anymore after all you said.-_

"Than what is it" he asked

Sakura knew that she could not tell him about her relationship with Itachi, after all Sasuke is a prodigy and it would not take long at putting 2 and 2 together, she needs to prioritize her baby, and think of ways to protect it from Orochimaru.

Sasuke interrupted her thoughts "Are you seeing anyone?" - _what?-_ She deadpanned.

He smirked " Don't give me that look Sa-ku-ra, I saw Kakashi…Is it him? Is he the one not letting you talk to me? Is he insecure of you still care for me?"

Suddenly the Sasuke she knew came back , the arrogant Uchiha he's always been was back, and his face was a breath away from hers, so close she could feel his breathing hovering on her lips, as he held his delicate fingers on her chin, he held her there for what seemed a very long time. - _Oh Gods …I can't move-._

And as he got closer and closer to her he closed his eyes and then-.

"Traitor!"

 _-Sai ?thank God_ !- Sakura was very grateful of the interruption

Sai drooped down from what seemed to be one of his ink summons, interrupting the kiss that was left frozen and forgotten on the air.

With the fake smile on his lips he said "Dickless is looking for you ( he looked at Sakura than back at Sasuke) am I interrupting something?"

"No""yes" they both answered in unison.

"No" Sakura repeated "we are done talking ( emphasizing thee _DONE_ she looked at Sasuke) and from now on everything will go back to normal Sasuke… I promised Kakashi… he _WANTS_ me to help you cope trough your loss…because he cares for the dynamics of the team and he knows it hasn't been that long since **YOU** KILLED Itachi"

She hadn't meant for her last sentence to sound so harsh, but she couldn't help it, she was angry because how _dare_ he try to kiss her.

Sasuke felt the bitterness and anger at the sound of her voice when she said that. So he couldn't bear to keep looking at her angry gaze. It felt accusatory . It made him feel like trash. Like if he took something precious from her. And that confused him, so he left without saying another word.

"So it seems like I DID interrupted something"

Thankful for the interruption Sakura couldn't help but to hug her savior, which caused Sai to stiffen a little at the sudden touch.

"No Sai … you were just in time"

Sai knew the interruption was no accident, the moment he spotted the two while guarding the perimeter he was assigned to ,he couldn't help but help his friend out. He noticed the way her shoulders tensed at the contact of the Uchiha's grasp , and her facial expression was not the one of a woman that is happy of being touched, clearly the traitor had no clue of the discomfort she was feeling . And by all means he was not going to just stand there and allow it.

"That's what friends are for ugly" the soft smile he gave her was by all means sincere… after all it has always been her who helps him to understand about emotions. "Good night Sai"

And with that Sai left, and Sakura was finally able to go to bed hoping to dream about a very shirtless Ithachi Uchiha.

* * *

 **XxX**

* * *

It was 3 in the morning when Sakura's belly started to grumble. She tossed and turned trying to ignore the hunger she felt. She was having such a pleasant dream and did not wanted to wake from it. She was in a beach enjoying her day, helping a small one year old boy to build sand castles, and failing miserably at it, that is until a shadow of a men she couldn't recognized knelt down beside them to help them. And she suddenly could not keep ignoring the hunger she felt and woke up to reality.

 _-Baby must be hungry-_ . She thought with excitement.

So she got up and walked towards the kitchen - _Everything is dark, everyone must be asleep, I'll try not to make much noise-_ She didn't bother to turn on the light because she didn't wanted anyone to star questioning her eating habits.

"I see you can't sleep either"

A cold stoic voice was speaking to her from the side were the dinning table was at, it sounded like Sasuke kind of, with the difference that this one was more relaxed and less arrogant.

She was so surprised by the sudden voice in the room that she accidentally dropped the bottle of juice she was holding in her hand.

"Oh…sorry Gaara-Sama I didn't know you were here"

She crouched to pick up the bottle she had dropped, it was so dark as the fridge door closed she couldn't see anything ,but yet she still tried to reach for the juice, she was surprised when instead of touching a cold bottle she felt warm long fingers, and then she noticed that Gaara had reached for the juice as well. Maybe he was trying to help her?

Gaara silently thanked Kami for the fact that the kitchen lights were off, the bright pink blush he had on his pale skin at the contact of her hands on his would have been very noticeble.

He suddenly broke the silence of the room as he noticed she was not moving.

"Um..Sorry I scared you and made you drop this"

They were both in a crouching position. Suddenly Sakura noticed she was not moving and tried to fix that in the most awkwardly way possible . - _Why am I so damn nervous-._

"That's ok thanks" she said letting go of his hand and taking the juice instead . As they both tried to get up in the darkness, Sakura's forehead and Gaara's nose collided followed by a soft "ugh" coming of course from the poor Kazekage.

"Oh God Gaara I'm sorry …here let me—"

"It's ok I think we should turn on the lights before we move again"

 _-Of course …how stupid of me…he has his sand shield-_

Sakura felt a little relieved and less guilty at the realization and quickly moved towards the on switch, and when she turned around and saw a very much bleeding Gaara her body went cold. - _Oh God I'll definitely get executed for assaulting the Kazekage in the kitchen….So much for ultimate defense-_

"Oh my God Gaara !...you are bleeding…I-I'm so sorry ( she walked up to him) here let me"

Her hands glowed green and she was healing his poor abused nose. Once her work was done she stepped back while offering him a hand to help him up. Not that he needed it but he took it either way. And that's when she saw him. Really really saw him.

 _-Why are his cheeks red …is ..Is he blushing?-_

"Um…Sakura-san y- you um" than he pointed at her _._

"My what?" she asked in confusion . When she looked at herself reality hit her like a ton of bricks.

She was in such a hurry to grab a bite to eat that she forgot to put her shorts on …Sakura had removed them to go to bed..And now she was in the kitchen in front of the Kazekage wearing nothing but a pink T-shirt. It was long enough to cover her panties but it still was very revealing.

She quickly tried covering up by pulling it down a little bit but all it did was reveal more of her top . - _God! Oh!-_

She couldn't look at him , what was he going to say or think?. Sure she wasn't expecting anyone to be up as late as her in the kitchen , much less the Kazekage.

Lost in her thoughts she did not notice the extra warmth that was embracing her. It felt fluffy and it smelled like cinnamon and ocean. - _Hummm … is this his robe?...yes it is Gods he smells so good-._ Quickly Sakura put those thoughts away and sheepishly vowed and thank him for his mercy towards her, it seemed that her night was becoming more complicated than before.

Gaara just stood there , looking at her, not really knowing what to say or do. So he opted for the first thing that crossed his mind he had to break the awkwardness of the moment.

" Juice is better when fresh from an orange"

Sakura looked at him thankful for the way he was avoiding a very embarrassing situation.

"Yes..I was just really hungry Gaara-Sama" she blurred out still looking at the floor and not at him.

"Gaara…remember I told you to just call me Gaara?" he said while sitting down at the dinning table.

Sakura followed "Gaara… ok but you also have to drop the San…it's only fair"

He agreed by nodding and giving her something that looked like an almost smile.

She tried to keep the conversation going so that no more weird awkwardness would be bound to happen again.

"I thought that you could sleep now that you no longer host the Shukaku"

Gaara stood up walking to the fridge pulling out what seemed like Ham , eggs and cheese. "yeah, but it's hard to stay asleep for longer that a couple of hours…it's like my body reacts and wakes itself up… so I come here instead…I used to go up top of the tower but someone was there already" he said coyly.

Sakura took note if that , maybe she could give him some pointers to help him sleep better or perhaps whip him up something to prolong his sleep. That's when the most exquisite smell hit her nostrils and she noticed Gaara was cooking something _**hummmmm**_ it smelled so good she was almost drooling.

"What are you cooking?..You know Gaara eating will not help you sleep any better."

"It's not for me…it's for you" at this she raised an eyebrow.

"You said you were hungry and I have no desire to sleep"

What surprised her the most was the fact that now that she thought about it, she never held a fluid conversation with him for longer than 5 minutes . And most of it was just to deliver info from her Shishou and that was just done twice recently during the war.

And yet here she was ,having a conversation with the Kazekage of Suna after almost killing him with her forehead, after she almost flashed him as well and now he was cooking for her…shirtless…- _oh gods he's not wearing a shirt!...Well he did lend me his robe…but_ _ **omgomgheisnotwearingashirt**_ _!_ _He is half naked!-_

Sakura was silently panicing "Y-you…y-you don't have to do that…thank you very much"

He turned to look at her and he noticed she was suddenly turning very red - _maybe she is getting a fever?-_ So when he placed her plate in front f her and reached over to place his palm over her forehead he could have sworn he heard a squeak sound coming from her.

Sakura was beyond embarrassed but when Gaara asked her if she was coming down with a fever and if she felt ok, she managed to calm down a bit, she said no and thanked him again for the very delicious meal she was devouring. Forgetting the fact he was half naked just for a bit she couldn't help but notice he was actually a very good cook.

And that's why she could not stop the next words that escaped her mouth.

"Mmmm…this…this is so good Gaara"

He found he liked that expression she held on her eyes and he nodded.

"Aa"

"So (she swallowed) what is this dish called?"

"Omelet…Temari usually makes it in the mornings, but she uses all kinds of ingredients…I prefer it simple…just ham and cheese" she smiled.

"It's perfect…I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life" she closed her mouth rather fast noting the implications of her comment before she could stop herself the words were already out. Her morning or night whichever it was, was turning very tiring…so she tried to fix it.

"You should give me the recipe" –yeah way to go Sakura-

He only nodded yes and let her eat in a comfortable silence, once she was finished he remembered there was something he wanted to tell her.

"Sakura… I never thanked you properly and I want to do it now" when pale blue orbs meet with light green emerald Gaara saw a flash back of the first day he meet her came to his mind, Even though he was trying to kill her teammate at the time, he took the time to look at those beautiful eyes .those eyes held determination and fire.

"And I also would like to apologize"

- _Apologize_?-

"I…I don't understand Gaa-"

"When we first meet ( he interrupted and lifts a finger as if telling her he was not done)I almost killed you…and I-I never apologized for that… the second time I saw you…you were helping with my rescue and saved Kankuro's life…I never …thanked you"

It was true, but to her that did not matter anymore. So much had happened since and now… now they were friends… if it wasn't for Gaara Naruto would be dead…It was him who hurried and brought him to her so she could keep him alive.

"You don't need to Gaara, we are friends, and that's what friends do…besides…You are not the only friend I have that has tried to kill me"

 _-Really?-_ He never could have believed that a friend of hers would ever tried to harm her, she must be lying just so he could feel better.

As if predicting his thoughts Sakura said. "Sasuke tried to kill me... twice... when he wanted to avenge his clan and kill his brother…it was when I got rescued, the first time Kisame interfered and the second it was Itachi himself…Itachi was letting him know I was just a prisoner…but it's not like Sasuke cared or was there to rescue me…no not at all…he was there to complete his purpose…I was there just by chance and than the rest of team Kakashi was there to take me with them….so I could not do anything about it …I tried I really did "

Suddenly Gaara felt like she was no longer talking to him …but to her own self. He kept quiet and just listened, she looked so sad, her shiny eyes turned to a dark green .no life was there, as if she was in so much pain.

She noticed she was saying more that she should, so she stood up and picked up her dishes tossing them in the sink to wash them.

"And Naruto did too (she paused and looked at him ) don't give me that look Gaara…It was when he had no control over Kurama"( by then she was done with the dishes) "look" she said to him while pulling down the borrowed robe he gave her showing him the scar on her left arm "see?"

"Naruto…did ..This? And you don't care?" he was very surprised and that hardly never happened .

"Yes, just like with you…at the time you had Shukaku going nuts…and …stupid me ran in front of you… getting in the way… but I am telling you all this because I want you to know it's ok…so don't worry …you are forgiven if that is easy for you…ok"

"Aa"

When she finished with the conversation she thanked him and excused herself back to her room, letting him know that she had a very important appointment with the Kazekage and he would not be pleased if she stood him up because she could not wake up on time.

He nodded and found himself somewhat sleepy as well."Good night Sakura"

"Night Gaara" and they both left to their respective rooms.

* * *

 **THENEXTDAY**

* * *

"Come in"

After the night of their encounter in the kitchen, Gaara got back to his room, he was very surprised he felt relaxed and very sleepy.

He could not help but keep thinking about a pink hair kunoichi.

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

 _As he lay in his bed his gaze remains on the window. The night seems calm and the stars are shining more than ever before, he feels entranced by the way the moon is shining , and his thoughts go back to the meeting he held with the leaf ninja._

 _Thoughts of the moment he was looking at Sakura as she was touching her belly right after Kakashi asked Sasuke about his sex life kept invading his mind. At that moment he gave no importance to the way she looked, or the way her eyes somber, or the way her chakra flared. Although he did worried when he noticed both of his siblings were looking her direction as well._

 _Temari had a concerned expression and that was very unusual for her, while Kankuro's held a mixture of awe and some anger._

 _All of the Sabaku siblings held feelings of friendship and gratitude towards Sakura, even though she never knew how much they appreciated her, she had no idea how much she helped them in great ways, which was the reason he was concerned as well._

 _But tomorrow was another day, and he was looking to have another amusing conversation with said kunoichi_

 _ **END OF FLASHBACK**_

"Gaara…good morning" the kunoichi that was invading his thoughts lately just walked in the door, and her smile was nice and soft as she greeted him. And he appreciated that very much silently wishing to see more often of that very same smile every day… but he put those thoughts in the back of his mind and answered.

"Morning Sakura… I believe you slept well?" He did not smile ,only a nod was given, but somewhere in her mind Sakura knew he was glad of seeing her when she walked in…she schooled herself for that .

Gaara did not need to say anything else, keeping his eyes on hers he was thinking so much of her and he did not understood why.

"Yeas thank you again Gaara, I hope you won't forget giving me that recipe"

She walked closer to his desk to take the seat in front of him.

"Aa " he replied.

"Gaara…what do you need me doing here that requires my stay for a whole year?" she suddenly asked

"After the war I noticed the lack of medic-nins in the field, and the ones we had lacked knowledge. In this times of peace I think is best as much as it is important to prepare by training as best as we can our medical corps, not to mention I need every shinobi to know at least the basics on healing , and the best to accomplish that would be you or Shizune-San."

He waited for her to reply but since she said nothing he kept going.

"Of course we personally requested for you because we know YOU are the best ,and we know you, you are our friend"

Sakura was very thankful for the request, not only because he gave her a major boost by praising her abilities but this opportunity will keep her away from Konoha until her baby is born, she was happy because she held dear feelings for the Sabaku siblings.

"Thank you for your trust Gaara I will do my best"

Sakura was feeling good about herself, she was getting acknowledged by one of the strongest Kages of the shinobi world. He is very honest ,she was sure he would not lie just to make her feel good.

Sakura and Gaara were discussing the duties she was going to have at the Suna Hospital, he discussed her pay, and she tried to rebottle it because she thought it was too high, not even in Konoha she was getting paid as much, and here in Suna she was not even going to pay rent. Of course Gaara was having none of it, He also informed her once the Orochimaru mission was completed and team Kakashi was dismissed to Konoha she would be moving to the same floor the siblings were residing .

She agreed to all those terms. The discussion turned to her dear old Akatsuki friends. He informed her he had gotten in contact with Nagato, and Nagato will get in touch with them as soon as possible, he apologized not to be able to come, but as Rain's official Kage he could not leave, but he will send something for Sakura none the less.

And for the time being her teammates will meet with them to star locating Orochimaru's hideouts, that way they can track him before Kabuto meets with Gaara just as a precaution in case kabuto wants to deceit them.

At the sound of the name of that damn snake Sakura tensed, she was very relieved when the conversation got interrupted by Kankuro.

"Ah , Sakura…I'm glad you are still here, I brought Gaara his lunch he usually eats it here would you like some as well?

At the sound of a free meal the somber aura that was formed because of the snake faded away.

"Yes, please ( she turns back to Gaara) that is if you don't mind the company"

"Aa" he nodded and Kankuro left the room to get Sakura her meal as well.

"So, what is it we are eating this time?" she was curious, she was silently wishing it was the same omelet Gaara made her last night.

"Its miso soup with a side of roosted mushrooms…which I honestly don't like, but I eat them anyways because Temari is very sensible about her cooking"

When Gaara lifted the cover that was hiding the smell of the food and the food itself Sakura was dying to try the miso soup – _IT smells great_ \- but when her sensible nose reached the smell of the rousted mushrooms her stomach started making all kinds of flips, and suddenly she didn't felt so good, the smell became unbearable .

Gaara noticed this he saw how her face paled very fast, and he noticed her discomfort. Her once rosy cheecks began to lose color slowly and he could see some sweet forming in her forehead close to her seal.

"Are you ok Sakura?" He could not hide the concern in his tone as he asked , and all she could manage was to nod, yes .

- _Oh Gods Not now Baby_ -

Gaara moved as fast as he could to get closer to her, kneeling right beside her "Are you sure?" "Yeah …I just need some air"

He helped her up to the window, not leaving her side at all ,holding her by the arm for support. He noticed she was wobbling as she tried to walk.

"Gaara… I don't think I feel so good" as soon as those words exited her mouth she found herself falling, if Gaara wasn't holding her she would have hit the floor – _what's wrong?_ \- And without thinking his brain started connecting the dots.

- _I see_ \- But what annoyed him was who he thought was to blame" – _Damn Uchiha…how dare he deny what is so obvious…I can't believe him …yesterday Kakashi asked him…God damn I_ -" Kankuro interrupted his thoughts as he walked in, he was very surprised by what he saw. A very unconscious Sakura on Gaara's arms.

"Um…did I miss something?"

"Bring the soup to her room …(he was very mad…he almost yelled) I'm taking her there now"

"Ok" was all Kankuro said.

- _I will stay by her side until she wakes, clearly I see why she is so stressed, I will offer her my unconditional protection…after all…it's the least I can do_ -

 **(A/N: Well my dears this is the end of the chapter please as always let me know what you guys think , it seems Gaara is winning our favorite kunoichi but there is still time for you to intervene ,who would her love be?**

 **Gaara Deidara Hidan Kakashi or our dear old Sasuke-Kun please don't forget to read and review…and sorry for any misspelling I might have made…it is my first time doing this)**


	7. Chapter 7

**MENDING THE PEACES**

 **Disclaimer- I do not owe Naruto**

 **A/N- OK so I am having so much fun with this story and thank you all for reading it, so far seems everyone loves Gaara so after this chapter and perhaps 2 more the decision will be made. This chapter is short and I want to dedicate it to my best friend, she knows who she is. She loves Sai but I think he is not too good for Sakura at least not this Sakura.**

 **Gaara 4**

 **Hidan 1**

 **Sasuke 2**

 **Kakashi 1**

 **ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 6. What Could Have Been'**

 **Sai's POV**

 **It began with the simplest of things, and now I can't cope with the way I feel.**

 **It's as troublesome as Shikamaru would say. These feelings issues are not at all easy. Emotions which I don't have …or maybe I did once long ago, but now … they are long gone, forgotten.**

 **I am always watching, looking for any exprecions that way I can learn more about them. I can find their meaning and see if I have them or have had them before.**

 **Books…they tell many things, I find I like books, they hold different explanations for different situations, but Sakura always says I should learn on my own. It's quite hard, I prefer reading, to me it's simpler, but it often brings me into more problems than answers.**

 **Naruto calls me weirdo when all I do is call out facts. At first I thought he didn't like me, but then she said sometimes friends show affection that way.**

 **I don't get it, so I tell her and she explains it better, than I asked her about nicknames because I came across a book that explains about friendship. I suggest I should have one for Naruto because I consider him a friend, she smiles at me and she sais I have to choose wisely and it has to be honest a true nickname that represents the most important part of him.**

 **So I am, Than she explains I should sometimes tell that person something nice, she said sometimes it's better to say the contrary to what we really think to avoid hurting the person we hold dear.**

 **I don't get it…she punched me because I did just as she said when I found her nickname; I called her ugly even though I think she is quite beautiful.**

 **This friendships and emotions are difficult to understand (and painful…especially with Sakura) but she understands after I explained, and we meet every other day in the library.**

 **One day I see her in the street and I ask for her help one more time.**

 **I tell her the way I feel warm inside my belly every time she is around, and how my face turns red, I show her how red my ears get, and how shaky my hands get, I can't draw or concentrate .**

 **I tell her I think I'm allergic to her because it happens every time she is near me.**

" **Sai…no"**

 **She blushes and she looks nervous and surprised, she tells me it will go away eventually with time if I ignore it.**

 **Somehow her features turn sad and she tells me she is ok when I ask if something is wrong. I know she is lying because of the way she bites her upper lip. I ask her…and tell her friends don't lie to each other, I tell her I would never lie to her because I feel I should always be honest to her.**

 **She runs away…and I'm there standing by myself…in the middle of the street…and I feel …I feel …sadness?**

 **The next day comes and I wait for her in the library…she never shows.**

 **Next thing I know, Zetsu from Akatsuki got her.**

 **And I feel … I feel…I don't know how I feel …because she is not here to explain this emotion I am getting, like if I want to punch someone.**

" **Watch it weirdo! We will get Sakura-Chan back…believe it"**

 **So I go back to the books and back to the misinterpretations. I research my allergy reactions towards Sakura when I see her, so that way it won't be a problem when we get her back…I look for the meaning in a book…and the book says is LOVE…**

 **I toss the book in the trash…Sakura was right … books are misleading the whole world.**

 **Time passes and she is back with us, she is ok, I feel happy to see her again.**

 **I know more about emotions now, and I noticed by the way she was acting; she didn't want to be rescued. She almost kills Naruto when he tore her from the older Traitor's arms, away from harm's way because Sasuke almost killed her next to Itachi.**

 **The traitor is back, after I lied and called her ugly, I learned my lesson and swore not to do it again.**

 **I still call her ugly, not because I think she is, but her expression brings happiness to me because every time I use it she smiles sweetly.**

 **I frown as I see her cry…she cried so much over the enemy's dead body… (But he kept her away?).**

 **After that every night I keep watch over her, somehow I am…I am Afraid?**

 **I don't want her to be harmed again.**

 **Every night after everyone is in bed sleeping I can hear the crying.**

 **I hear it all, even when I'm trying to fall asleep.**

 **And somehow I understand that the sadness she must feel when all the love around her is dying.**

 **And I ask myself, how can she stay so strong? She keeps on smiling during the day, but no one can tell is fake. But I …I know her true smiles…all her smiles, and the ones she uses now are not them.**

 **She puts on a mask every day.**

 **How can she hide it all for so long?**

 **So I ask myself, how can I take all her pain away? how can I save her?**

 **If I was to draw her again…yes she would be smiling, but I see the truth, and she would be smiling in between the darkness. How could she have fallen from her light?**

 **So I close my eyes…and the feeling of …Determination? Sparks.**

 **I will try from far away to never let her fall, even if I have to keep watch night after night.**

 **She keeps on smiling at us every day, and I know she is doing it to protect us from her pain, I know she wants to protect her precious person.**

 **She wants us to feel like it will be ok, because she is back, but I know this is just a shell.**

 **And I want to know, I have many unanswered questions.**

 **How can she be so strong? How could she hide the pain for so long? How can I take that feeling away from her? How can I save her from the dark that is consuming her light?**

 **I want to tell her she doesn't have to be alone.**

 **I finally find her, she is standing on her balcony, I want to talk to her, but she is not alone…she is with …HIM. And I notice he leans in to kiss her. I feel …I feel ANGER? Am I MAD? And suddenly I remembered, I remembered when she was alone, suffering because of …HIM.**

 **I remember when I was right beside her(so close yet not in time) ,and he did not stop or even acknowledge she was there as he reached for Itachi to make his kill, he did not see …the way she was standing in front of him…shielding him…The Shark man took her away than.**

 **We all saw her after that…It looked like she when to hell and back again.**

 **And tonight I can save her, I will be on time, so I do, just in time…and when he is gone, she hugs me, and I feel… I feel…I finally feel warm again.**

 **But this time I don't ask her to explain this emotion… because I don't want her to run away, and go through this all over again. So I silently let her know I will not let the darkness take her smiles away.**

 **I feel I'm smiling at her so I tell her.**

" **That's what friends are for" (you don't have to be alone, I want to make you smile every time I can)**

 **And I will be here, guarding her smiles, even if it's from afar, because the smile she gave me than …Is just so real.**

 **Yeah…emotions are a very complicated term… somehow I feel no one can learn them, really learn about them…but I am glad she was my teacher.**

 **(A/N…. so what you guys think? Like or no like? Don't forget to read and review my dears…next chappie is almost done…o and vote GAARA KAKASHI SASUKE DEIDARA who?)**


	8. Chapter 8

**MENDING THE PEACES**

 **Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto**

 **A/N Hello, I'm so sorry for taking so long in posting this chapter but as you all know life is unexpected . I reviewed some comments and understand that some of you are confused about Sai's POV .**

 **I did it because a friend of mine loves Sai and could not say no to her. Unfortunately I do not think Sai would be an option for this Sakura as a partner, he does love her and he will do everything and anything for her, but he does not understand emotions and she needs someone that can take care of her and her kiddo,**

 **I also used the POV to give you guys a little bit of hint as to what happened in the fight between Sasuke and Sakuras's love Itachi. Used it as a filler of it if you must, explaining the anger towards Sasuke.**

 **Well thank you all and enjoy this chapter. Our score keeps increasing ,I have posted this story in Archive of my own as well and votes come from their end as well ,seems like Gaara and Sasuke are winning.**

 **I'll create two more chapters and make my decition than that way you guys will see her interact with Hidan and Deidara .**

 **Gaara 6**

 **Hidan 1**

 **Sasuke 5**

 **Kakashi 1**

 **Deidara 2**

 **ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 7- Old friends**

"…So , you want us… to assist the Kazekage in Suna?"

Nagato was sitting in his officedesk talking to his ex-Akatsuki partners.

Right after Gaara had contacted him he wasted no time and used his jutsu to contact the remainder Akatsuki members.

Hidan, Deidara, and Kizame were standing in front of his desk.

After everything was over and they all went their separate ways Nagato informed them he would keep in touch trough the rings he gave them like always, and assured them that they will always have a home in Rain. Which place he had become it's Kage .

After all it was him who freed that poor village from the hunger and pain. And when he contacted them they had no idea what it was for.

"…So , tell me again… why should we … help those fuckers he-." Hidan got interrupted by Kisame

"Is pinky going to be there?" he asked Nagato.

He was curious because he knew Konoha always assisted the Kazekage when they had a hard time of something.

"Yes …she will be there (hands him a scroll) please … give this to her once you see her and ask her to contact me as soon as she can"

At this everyone tensed, the scroll Nagato handed Kizame was a summoning scroll that most likely summoned him ,and if he was giving it to Sakura it meant that the pinket might be in some type of trouble.

"Is something wrong, un?" Deidara was not the type that asked questions , but after time passed and he shared some time with her while on Akatsuki and during that time he became really fond of the kunoichi, after all she always appreciated his art.

Nagato explained to them the small details Gaara had discussed with him.

He informed them they were to team up with team 7 and team 8 from Konoha along with Suna's forces for a search party in all the remaining hideouts they knew of for Orochimaru, and that he did not know the full details but their assistance was there the Kazekage will inform them better.

"However …I do understand all of you have received pardon and are tied to no one …thanks to the aid all of you provided on the war, that is why I give each and everyone of you the option to accept or decline this mission…it does seemed of great importance"

"Well… if the pink bitch is involved I will Accept ( he gave a very creepy smile to the Rain Kage) I miss that kitten's face" He said turning at Deidara, although he already knew both of his partners answers.

"Yeah, I'll accept as well ,yeah"

"I can always pay a visit to pinky ( he half smiled) it has been a while and I been wanting to see her ever since the war ended.

At this Nagato noded to their answer and provided them with more supplies and weapons.

"Very well, Konan is off on a different mission for now , but once she returns she will head to meet up with you all in Suna. As I have explained before this mission seems of great importance and we don't know what it's the reason Suna wants Orochimaru, but if Konoha is involved it must not be good, even if he assisted in the war (or Tsunade) Keep me updated of everything dissmissed"

They all agreed and started to head out towards Suna as fast as they could. They traveled trough air thanks to Deidara, and they would make it there at night time.

It was not a lie that Akatsuki aided the allied forces and the result was the pardon all their crimes.

After all it was them who distracted Madara long enough for Naruto and Sasuke to strike, and after that Kaguya was defeated. What caught them all off guard was Sasuke, at the end the bastard went nuts in the head and tried to hit Sakura with a Genjutsu which caused Deidara to be in coma for a week, because he jumped in front of her and looked at his eyes by accident, the asshole as Hidan said did not cared for the kunoichi and tried attaking her while screaming vengeance for his brother.

So they had to hold him down until Naruto got on his feet and was able to defeat him at the cost of his arm.

After all that was over none of them kept in touch, this was the first time Nagato had contacted them and that alone told them this was important.

But after they left the war zone and got pardoned. Hidan returned to his once upon a time temple in the land of Hot water, far away from any hidden village.

He was only contacted by any of the hidden villages if they needed to execute someone which rarely happened after the war because everything was peace, and Hidan needed to have sacrifice subjects for his prayers to Jashin-Sama at least once a month and the villages knew that would keep the Immortal at not regardless Hidan would look for a guilty murderer ninja and do it anyways.

Deidara on the other hand found Peace and solace in the village of rice paddies. He traveled often looking for places that needed his destructive artistic qualities. He never stopped making his art, most of the time it was to help bring down buildings or make a huge hole to build a small lagoon, he never complained because if he could make art and not get in trouble for it, who was him to complain right.

Kisame … he build his own little cottage on a shore on the outskirts of Cloud, It was a little beach he had found ,he loved the ocean and he was at peace there.

Most of his days were spent fishing and getting drunk, he loved the rain ,and most of the times it would rain he would sleep outside, he always felt that rain would cleanse his tinted soul. And he did not mind the peace.

After all he always liked to be alone, but deep inside he missed his one and only comarade… Itachi.

 **xXx**

The reason why Gaara mention to Sakura he needed her help to recruit Akatsuki was not because he needed her to go and get them specifically for him, but the smart Kazekage knew if said Kunoichi was not on the mission they most likely would have declined the mission. Why? The answer is very simple.

Even though they were all S-rank criminals and most the time they would fight and argue with Itachi he was their commarade for years. And they knew if any mission that held any business with the Saning Orochimaru it would only meant one thing…. SASUKE… and they hated the brat. Specially Kizame.

If they needed to get Orochimaru,,, it always meant help for the younger Uchiha, and they could not forget how many times he tried to bring harm to their one and only friend …Sakura.

And even though Itachi's death was his own choice, they still did not care for any excuses the brat gave, to them a brother was a brother regardless .

The Kazekage was witness the way they always tried to protect Sakura in the midst of the battle during the war and knew if Sakura was on the mission … they would be too, simple as that.

She had broken the barriers each one of them had,in a way Sakura had obtained the same light Naruto had with enemies and it was that same warm light she used on them and she successfully melted her way trough their cold and harden hearts…even Hidan's… although he will never admit to i… it was no lie the immortal was very fond of her as well.

Hidan was surprised when in the middle of one of his non-sacrificial prayers to his lord Jashin she suddenly knelt down next to him and asked him questions about his religion.

Sakura never liked the idea of human sacrifices and less if they meant to be for a God, but she understood Hidan's point of view. She sat there as he explain to her about the beauty of suffering and pain , and she knew all about that, so she had told him she will respect his God and as she said that she gave his God a small non-sacrificial prayer , thanking Jashin-Sama for keeping Hidan out of harms way.

At that moment Hidan was in awe, and he wished Sakura would change her mind about sacrifices because she would make a beautiful immortal, and as the thought crossed his mind , he felt sadness for the very first time, because that meant that some day she would have to die, but if she ever did passed away he would make sure it was because of natural causes and nothing less.

It was no secret that Sakura hated Hidan with all of her might at the beginning, but as time passed while she was with Akatsuki she learned many things about it's members.

There was Hidan, a child often ignored …just like she was, underestimated and often bullied because of the color of his hair or because of his pale skin, he was albino and he had nice violet red eyes.(she always loved his eyes) the only thing that made him stand out was the fact that he was the only kid out of all of his congregation that survived the ritual when the sacrifice was made to Jashin-Sama a long time ago…it was the last one of many because on all of the past ones no kid survived, and _he_ was rewarded by his God with immortality.

On the first day she saw him at the outside of the Akatsuki hide out she was under Kisame's care.

She never knew but Itachi had asked the shark man to let her escape, because every time he tried she would come back.

On the way out she stopped and she saw him, and she could not believe it,to her understanding he was supposed to be buried in the Nara forest, cut in _pieces_ , and then all she saw was red, she remembered Ino's face crying over Asuma's grave , Choji … losing weight because he was grieving , and Shikamaru … he did not even show to the funeral because he was in denial.

The shark man did not even noticed when the pinket had stopped followed him. He thought she had gotten the hint and left… and he wasn't going to peruse… that was until he felt Hidan's chakra.

 **FLASHBACK**

 _She ran and ran as fast as she could to the location where she felt his chakra , she remembered him because of the day they had captured him._

 _\- if he wasn't killed by Shika …than I will make sure he stays dead now-( she tought to herself)._

 _She masked her chakra and punched him with her enhanced fist so hard he went flying 15 feet. Hidan knew she was heading his way, but he never dodge on purpose , he likes feeling pain, welcomes it. In his religion he feels it is beautiful. of course she would make a good sacrifice for his lord, that is what he was thinking until he saw Kizame holding her tight,_

" _ **Don't get in the way Kizame …the bitch Is mine, I will offer her to Jashin-Sama as a thank you for freeing me for that damn hole, he knows It's been too long without a sacrifice and she will do just fine" he yelled at the shark.**_

" _That's not going to happen you jerk" Sakura yelled while being held back by Kisame_

 _All that was going in Kizames mind was –what a drag- but he kept quiet, he knew the letting pinky free option was out the window now, all he did was listen._

" _ **What bitch…you think you are better than me? Hu…just because you kill with permition?... I think that's way worse…to kill for a stupid village…were is the beauty in that" he said actually feeling insulted**_

" _You are nuts you psyco…you killed Asuma-Sensei!...let, . !I'm going to rip him to pieces". she roared and Kisame thought for a moment that she would get loose._

" _ **Listen kitten… dying comes with the job… once you sign up to be a ninja… if you know better that is…after all he was a beautiful sacrifice to Jashin –Sama he is no longer suffering he will look after him, he is happy trust me" he was more calm…thinking perhaps he could make this bitch get his point of vew?**_

" _ **We are all the same…in the end we are all ninja…we are all human…but don't get me wrong, I don't do this for a stupid village or a stupid goal…that's fucking petty and holds no meanin…,I do it for Jashin-Sama. Not even for immortality, I'm just rewarded in that way for my faith" he rationalized**_

" _you are just a stupid jerk …you killed many innocent people" she yelled_

" _ **If you want to see it that way you… killed Sasori…and no one is innocent… I just sacrifice sinners for their redemption" he answered as if she was asking**_

"… _Well you killed Gaar…, and don't give all that talk about redemption on others souls Sasori was a criminal"_

" _ **And what makes that any better.. your Gaara killed many people before he became the Kazekage did he not?... what about that hum?…what makes you better…killing is killing regardless the only difference I see is the reason behind all that**_ _"_

" _wha-"he cut her off rasing a hand_

" _ **See kitten, its all about how you see it…everyone has a different excuse, but at the end we are all the same"**_

 _After that she did think about it… she still hated him but she gave it a taught, because she remembered all of the things Itachi told her…about the Uchiha massacre and everything else….she still did not forgave him , but she began to understand him._

 _So she let Kisame bring her back to the hide Kisame the bones of his arm were all broken_

 _-ill tell Itachi I couldn't do it … how many more times is she going to refuse to leave…I wonder if she even wants to leave at all…Gosh my arm …yeah definitely Itachi next time you do it-._

 **END OF FLASH BACK**

With time passing Sakura understood what he meant… and understood that at the end everyone killed…it started with Nagato…it was after all Konoha ninja who killed his parents…there was many things Sakura could rationalize to keep hating Hidan but she choosed not to after all she learned about him…after all he did apologized in the end…he did said if Asuma would have not tried to attack he would have not killed him…that was the way Hidan apologized it wasn't much but it sufficed .

Deidara… he was in shock on the day he was supposed to look after our pinket kunoichi .

He had made many little birds with his clay and he enhanced them whit chakra to make them explode for his training.

She was sitting outside the compound in the training grounds watching him train and when the birds started to fly towards him and they blew up all over in the dark sky, she was in shock. Because it was in fact beautiful.

And after that she sat up and told him how cute and pretty his art look…that's what made him gape at her in shock, she told him how much she liked his art specially the color that comes out of the explosives after they detonate, it is after all a mixture of the TNT and his own chakra (light blue color) He told her all about his art after he recuperated …and time passed by very fast.

Then she took notice of his palms and remembered the little mouths in them, being a medic always sparked some type of morbid curiosity in her and Deidara was a subject that needed to be researched .

"Deidara-San… your hands …can I see them?"she asked him out of the blue .

Startled he obliged

"Wow they are amazing …and you say no one else has them?"

He noded… no.

"Are they some type of mutation or is it your clan Keke-Genkai?"

He didn't know how to answer, he was in shock because most people either mocked him for his hands all the time or just were disgusted by them, and the fact that Sakura showed interest in them startled him .

After a while he managed to answer "um…they are my Keke-Genkai… but I am the only one on my clan that has them…my blood started my own kekei-Genkai yeah"

She did not say anything else .

With the tip of her fingers ever so softly she started touching the line were the mouths were formed in his palms. This caused a blush in Deidara's cheeks .

And when her curiosity increased she forced the mouth to open.

She was so mesmerized by his hands and the mouths that she could not hear the small gasp coming from his mouth when she did that.

Than she stuck her finger in the mouth as If to confirm it had a tongue.

At this Deidara could not keep quiet and decided to let her know he was still there.

"You know…I feel all of that…you better have your hands clean yeah" even though he was very red (Hinata style) he had to let her know geez did this woman had no fear or was she crazy? He was a criminal and she was being all curious and touchy and making him all red.

"Oh-Oh! Im so sorry Deidara (she blushed) I just ..am so curious…this is amazing …it's like you started your own blood line…if you have kids are they going to have them?"

At this he said no

"No ….because I don't plan on having any…but if you are interested I may consider"

She blushed a deep crimson and told him to keep on dreaming …she was saved by Itachi when he came to retrieve her..perhaps he was watching? Because on the way back to her room he was quite silent…more than usual.

And at that… Sakura had a smile on her face because she knew he did care for her.

After Itachi removed Sakura from Deidara's care…the blond couldn't stop thinking about how exceptional and weird this girl was. Not only she spoke to him with the respect his partners never gave him ,but she liked his art, he tough to himself maybe he could help her get away… but Deidara was a very selfish man, and this girl gave him actual good conversations, he decided not to at the end, but in the case she would be in danger….than he will… no matter what.

His thoughts went way back then… when they first brought her in …It was after they assigned her to heal the Uchiha's eyesight…Pein also asked the pinket to help Deidara and fix his remaining arm which he remembered he was not to happy to let anyone touch his hands

 **Flash Back**

" _Ouch! Why would you do that you jerk…no biting" she glared at him_

" _ **Don't touch me dammit yeah!" he yelled.**_

" _I have to fix that arm of yours…I was told to"_

" _ **I don't care…let me be or Ill make a master piece out of you and blow you to bits yeah"**_

" _You are not going to blow me up you jerk… come on this won't take much longer…look if you don't let me I'll be in trouble and you won't be able to mold art like you used to with just one hand… so lets just get this done with"_

 _He still said no , but he did not noticed when Sakura reached for his forehead and sent a wave of soothing chakra that down right knocked him out. The next day he woke up to a pair of much better looking strong hands._

 _He smiled_

 _ **END OF FLASH BACK**_

Yeah she did left a pretty interesting impression in our blond friend.

That was Sakura…and all Deidara liked more at the time was to get under the Uchiha's skin, and if keeping a nice girl company would accomplish that then who was he to deny the offer.

And Kisame little by little he grew fond of Sakura, she impressed him so much as time passed by, he did not only learned that she was scary at times, but he also saw that she was kind, and fiery but most of all she was selfless and respectful, and he respected that …They were criminals for Kami's sake and in some way she was nice to them…she learned each and every story of theirs… exept Tobi…

At first Tobi treated her like everyone else but Kisame noticed that lately he was showing hostility towards did not like Sakura at all.

He was stressed very much stressed… not only did he need to help Itachi to get her to leave …there was the Sasuke issue also and Kisame did not understand the Uchihas…they were … complicated.

And he thought _he_ was complicated…

Sometimes he would very much like to return to the days were it was only him and nothing else but him…but o well.

In a way Kisame felt bad for her…

He knew Itachi, and he knew she was going to suffer for his death…because no matter how many times he would try to talk to Itachi about backing out of that stupid way of rescuing his little brother the Uchiha would never bolt, he would never change his mind.

Many times he told him to just peruse happiness in Sakura's arms, to do something for him for once.

But no …Itachi would never …he always said it would be the only way to rescue his brother from the curse of hatred…If Kisame knew something about Uchiha's it was that they were …stupid and stubborn …just thinking about that argument brings him headaches .

 **FLASHBACK**

" _You know…you have choices"_

 _Kisame was sitting in the hideouts common room looking at Sakura patching up a very beaten Deidara and on his side was a very tense Itachi.-is he jealous?-_

" _I think you have already made many sacrifices…I don't get why you are so stubborn and not just try to be happy with her (turns to look at him) I know you love her"_

 _Itachi just stood there looking at Sakura while listening to Kisame, than he closed his eyes as if meditating the answer ,like if he tries to convince himself of the answer he will give Kisame was true to him._

" _That …Was something that was not planned…unfortunately I cannot do that… I do love her… I also know she is strong and she will be ok…in the end I will become just a memory in her past…after all he will be there next to her (looking straight at kisames eyes) she loved him first"_

 _-Unbelievable just unbelievable -was all that Kisame thought…-how can he think that …. Damn Uchiha's ,this is the reason why he don't like making friends-_

 _But it was bound to happened after all that time with him he always knew._

" _So ….you really think that she will run to dear old Sasuke-_ _ **Kun…**_ _right after he killed the love of her life?... Because as much as I would love to tell you otherwise Itachi… if you don't know yet…She loves you…like really ,really love you…If anything ,she will run to him… but not for the reasons you think"_

 _Yeah, he said it …Itachi needed to know the consequences of his actions…maybe a guilt trip will make him react…_

 _After a while Kisame noticed that Itachi was not answering at all,-Is he ignoring me? O hell no!-_

" _Right …Itachi?...you know she loves you…_ _ **Damn it Itachi look at me**_ _!" he yelled_

 _Also yelling "I know!"_

" _ **Ok..do what you want…just don't come floating to my bed asking me for help…" with that he left .**_

 **END OF FLASHBACK**

In the years they had together never had they had a fight…let alone yelling included…and never had Kisame witnessed Itachi actual desperation…like he did not know what to do… only he knew the real struggle Itachi went through in his last days.

So he took it upon himself to try and protect her if Itachi was not going to be there.

And for some reason ever since they got summoned by Nagato he has had a bad feeling, and that feeling somehow involved Sakura. That got confirmed when Nagato gave him the Summoning sroll .

 **XxX**

In the Kazekage tower was a beautiful pink hair kunoichi laying on her bed, her sleeping form was illuminated by the blue rays of the moon, bringing and lightening up all her facial features, revealing a majestic glow all around her.

The man that was standing next to her bed, was in awe at the beautiful sight, he could not help it, he got closer and sat down on her bed , there was a stubborn pink strand of hair in the way as if it was trying to block the view, so he decided to place it behind her ear so that he could get a better look at her beautiful face.

His fingers grazed by accident her cheek and he could not believe their softness.

He saw nice pale skin, not as pale as his, hers had a pink tone to it, a small pointy nose, high cheek bones, natural pink tinted lips, that looked very very smooth, a nice shaped blue diamond mark in the middle of her forehead as if letting the world know how beautiful but deadly she could be, it was nice to know there was someone else with a mark on their forehead and not just him.

But he could not believe how beautiful she looked…so at peace…than he started to get drawn towards her…as if she was calling for him to get closer and closer and…Gods she mells so nice…like cherry's and roses…and something else which he doesn't know what it is but its making him want to kiss her – _wait…what the hell am I doing_?-

The spell was broken…Gaara could not understand the feeling he was having, he was shocked… well…she is very pretty, and nice, and she always has a way of making him feel normal. Not many people do that.

Then there was that other issue that lead him to bring her to her room and he could not believe it …- _the nerve of that man, how could he-…_

His toughts were interrupted when a small soft hand grabbed his, and suddenly light pale meet emerald.

"G-Gaara?" - _finaly she's up_ -

"Sakura …how are you feeling" he asked.

To her his voice was almost a whisper, it was warm and mellow as if he spoke any louder she would puff away. But at the same time it was controlled and stern.

"What happened?" she tried to get up and he did not let her.

"Seems like you fainted …you should stay as you are and rest a bit longer" he informed her

"I see…I'm better now really"

"Sakura…Is … is there something you want to tell me… I mean you are Naruto's friend and I know we don't speak much …- _Gods I'm rambling like an idiot_ \- what I'm trying to say is that I want us to become friends"

In reality he wanted her to tell him what he already knew..but he did not know how to ask, and he was not going to pressure her.

- _He must think I don't like his sister's food because of the face I made_ -she was mentally face palming herself.

"Gaara….I mean , sorry for worrying you… the truth is that I haven't been eating really good these days and the trip here was made in such an urgency that I think I over did it…but I'll be fine – _it's my baby he doesn't like mushrooms it seems_

-She lied to him and felt horrible for it

- _She's lying to me_ \- "It's ok Sakura… no press- problem…no problem" Damn why am I so nervous.

She was kind of confused by the comment but she brushed it off.

Then the door flew open revealing a very worried Naruto.

"Sakura-Chan!" he yelled

"Naruto" she greeted him

"How are you? Kankuro told me you fainted…are you alright?" - _Damn it Kankuro and his big mouth_ -

With a sweet smile she says "I'm ok Naruto…I was just telling Gaara I haven't eaten very good lately, but that will change I promise"

"Gaara?"

Naruto was in such a hurry and worried to see her that he had missed the Kazekage next to Sakura holding hands with her.

Pointing at his friend he says "Gaara!...why are you holding Sakura-Chan's hand"

A this Gaara and Sakura looked at their hands and very slowly and discreetly let go while blushing a little.

"Gaara..(Clears throat) was the one who caught me so I would not hit the floor when I fainted you baka" It had nothing to do with his question but seems like it worked

"Well since now that it seems like you are well and Naruto is here I'll go check if Akatsuki is here yet"

We all know that was not why he was leaving.

"ok" she said,feeling a little sad he was leaving…somehow his presence soothes her, makes her feel safe.

"I'll see you at dinner…If you feel better that is..I'll make sure there is no mushrooms…seems like you and I don't like them that much"

This made Sakura happy…so she gave a very huge smile just for him "I hope is that omelet you made"

"I can arrange something" and with that he left …no letting her see his blushing face or his tinted ears

"See you Gaara –Kun" as if he was still there…somehow she knew he heard her

- _Kun?!-_ ringing bells were going off in Naruto's head .

Once Gaara left , Naruto took advantage to let her know of the arrival of team 8 , and that they made it before time so they could star with the mission.

"Ah , so Hinata is here? " She asked…over time Hinata had become one of her best friends , and since she was helping with her training back in Konoha with the hospital she was very exited to see her.

Sakura loved her team but sometimes she needed a Girl there.

"Yeah Sakura-Chan..and she invited me for ramen (he pause) but I'm afraid I will cancel"

"Cancel?!" she raise an eyebrow

Sakura knew how much Hinata loved Naruto…it was pretty obvious , everyone knew but Naruto was just very clueless and sometimes very stupid to notice

"Naruto …why are you canceling?"

"Sakura-chan…how can I go eat ramen when you are sick and here alone…and I know you feel bad" he explained

"feel bad? What do you mean? You should go Naruto don't worry about me I'm no baby and I'm a doctor..go out with her I'll be ok"

"Sai told me the teme was bugging you last night"

- _Sai_ -

"I asked him to come Naruto..I needed to talk to him"

This caused Naruto's smile to fade remembering the talk he had the other night with the Uchiha.

"Sakura-chan …do you still love him" he asked not really wanting to know the answer.

After everything he put her trough Naruto was hoping she would not harbor feelings for him anymore…specially because she has been avoiding Sasuke.

She frowned at his question because in reality she didn't know what she felt for him … but she will always see him as her friend … she just couldn't trust him. But this was Naruto and he would be upset to know that Team 7 could not be the same as before …at least not yet.

"Naruto…yes I do… just like I love you too… both of you are my friends…even though he betrayed us and tried to kill me… I just can't trust him .."

He smiled "SO you don't see him as before Sakura-chan?" he gave her a sunny bright smile

"No I don't…I grew up and realized what true love is…love is something pure …something selfless, love is not supposed to bring you pain…and I have learned that sometimes for love…sacrifices are needed specially if you have to save someone special"

It was true, what Itachi taught Sakura was love… his love for his brother was selfless and pure, he sacrificed his life to protect him, and she respected him no matter how much it hurt.

Naruto oblivious to her pain was very happy and could not help him self

"Sakura-chan…y-you know I've always loved you…and always will..no matter what you will always be in my heart"

"N-Naruto I-"

"It's ok ( he cut her off) I know ….all I want Sakura-Chan ,is for you to be happy…and I hope that the person you love will make you happy…because you deserve nothing less …and I –I will always be here… anytime you need a friend"

She could not help to hold back the tears that were running down her cheeks. As she rushed to him and held him tight, she cried and cried so much all the same while griping the front of his orange jacket. It confused him and he held her by her waist , he didn't know what was happening, but he knew a broken Sakura .and right now she needed him ,just to hold her there.

He knew he did not understand, but he knew she needed to let out all the raw emotions she had bottled up inside. All that sadness that dwelled inside her heart.

Perhaps he said something he shouldn't have? He was always so naïve , but he will find the cause for her sadness and make it better some way…believe it.

"Thank you Naruto" a croaky voice said

"Sakura chan …whatever it is …I'm here …believe it"

"I know…(she looked at him)you know Naruto ( she wiped her tears away) you are such a Baka …you have a beautiful girl, she has been in love with you for kami knows since when and you are so ignorant to notice her, and here you are loving me ,and I -I wish I could…but you are my beloved brother…"

He was confused, love him? Someone? Who?

And as if she read his mind.

"Hinata you moron!...she loves you…cant you tell?"

"H-Hi-Hi-Hininata? ( he blinked) Loves m-me?"

"mhmp"

"B-but"

"Go Naruto…don't make her wait… she has waited long enough"

"but you?"

"I'll be fine…besides I won't be alone. Don't forget I'm going to dine with Gaara"

"ok Saku- wait…Is is Gaara the one w-"

"Just go you Baka"

And with that he left , he left to look for Hinata, because he could not believe what she said, and suddenly all this images of Hinata fainting, falling, blushing, and all those times he thought she had fevers came rushing down at him. And he understood that he was making her feel the same pain he feelt every time he watched Sakura suffer.

But he will not let Hinata suffer, suddenly he feels a warm sensation in his belly perhaps this is good? Or maybe is his stomach demanding ramen.

 **XxX**

Right after Naruto left , Sakura stayed in her room by herself for a couple of minutes, in those minutes her thoughts linger to a certain red and unruly hair man. – _Gaara_ -

She was thinking about the comment Naruto made about him being the one she was in love with, for her it sounded crazy.

"Yeah right…me and the Kazekage of Suna…that Naruto is such a baka….I wonder what made him think that way"

 _-that is so out of the question…it would never work, he is Kazekage and that's without me being pregnant…who would want a woman that is pregnant with the child of another…I'm not complaining because I love my kiddo more than anything-_

Her mind started thinking and planning. She got up and took off to the shower. While on the shower she started to think and think more. Excuses. Tsunade. Plans. Tsunade. Ugh …her mind could not rest.

After her mission in Suna is completed she would go back with a kid explaining she fell in love but the father was a Suna shinobi who would never know of the kid because he was nothing but a one night stand. She knows Tsunade would throw a fit but she will deal with it no problem.

The name of the fake father will never be revealed . leaving the Uchiha blood line behind. No one would think anything of it allowing safety for her kid. She will reveal her plans to Kakashi and see what he thinks of it. – _Kakashi_ -

She wonders if he will still be living with her and her child. He did say he will be with her no matter what. Sakura was thinking about the possibilities of moving to a bigger place.

Kakashi's place was ok but it was way too small ,a crib would definitely not fit in there.- _I wonder if he will move with us …im so used to having him around… that doesn't matter hu baby? because I have you now and I will never feel alone-_

Out of all the excuses she could come out she started to panic

- _oh Gods what if you are the mirror image of your father…what can I say then?-_

She exited the shower and once dressed on comfortable clothes she got back to her bed.

" no point stressing now… I still have many months to think about this"

"to think about what?"

She turned around to see her favorite Copy- ninja

" Kakashi..wha- I thought you were out. Weren't you supposed to meet up with Akatsuki?...is everything ok?"

He looked worried .his lone eye gave away many things. During all the years she came to understand and figure out many things about Hatake Kakashi. She could read very well his body language. His lay back posture was nothing lay back right now. His shoulders were tense . And even though she could not see his hands because he had them tucked in his pockets she could sense how much pressure he was placing on them . no doubt his knuckles are turning white right now.

Even tough he fake smiling under the mask and his eye was crinkle showing he was happy she knew better.

"Kakashi what is going on" she demanded

Without hesitation he answered, there was no point of lying to her when she called him out like that. If he did he knew he could suffer bodily harm.

"We spotted Orochimaru in the borders of wind country and fire country ( the tone he was using was dead serious) we don't know if he was either crossing towards Konoha or coming to Suna (he got closer to her ) he disappear …we couldn't follow…I don't know why but he smiled …towards us. Like if he knew we were there"

If Sakura was already a tone of light skin color right now she rivaled Orochimaru's color. She was pale and scare and she was freaking out silently.

"Kakashi..what if-"

"Sakura" he cut her off

He knew she was scared once he told her all of this. That's why he rushed back there was no point and they needed to report to the Kazekage but he needed to make sure she was ok before that. After all he was panicking too.

He assured her she will be ok , she understood that. He also explained to her she was in no danger because no one knew about the baby and it will stay that way until she returned to Konoha. He explained to her that by then he would be either dead or captured and his chakra sealed.

"And if regardless you don't want to reveal the fathers identity after all of that I will be there no matter what"

She knew Kakashi will always be there… she could always count on him. She knew all he wanted to do was to make her feel safe. Kakashi could not hide how scare he was and he will protect her baby… after all they were family.

Kakashi knew even after all he said she will worry either way , Sakura was a very stubborn soul and he loved that about her. but still he did not need her to get sick because of this, she was pregnant and in his eyes she was still that 12 skinny year old little girl he will always protect. So he opted for a change in the subject

"What were you mumbling about before I interrupted your talk with your inner you?"

Yeah Kakashi knew all about her even though it was years inner was not there he would still tease he about it.

She was not going to let him know about the crazy thought about the Kazekage, he would tease her for decades.

"Well I was just thinking ..you know…after all of this is over and I get back to Konoha… it will be obvious I will not cross the gates alone"

Truth is Kakashi was giving this subject a lot of thought ever since he first found out she was expecting. He did not want to go back to be alone. And ever since she moved in with him after her parents died he enjoyed her company. And if she was not getting married or anything he did not mind having her around a while longer with a baby.

He had no experience with kids. He thought he did not like them but having her around changed his mind.

"Now that you mention this Sakura…I was thinking that a crib was going to take a lot of space on my small apartment"

- _What! Kakashi is going to ask me to get my own place…oh no oh no!_ –

"So what do you think if we make use of my old house (he looks at her) hu? Sakura?"

- _His old house? Wait does this mean_ -

"You still want to share living space?"He gave her a look that say duh.

"Of course… why would yo- I mean if you still want to …I can understand if you want to be on your own"

He knew this would happen…damn it that's why he always stuck around with just dogs.

She slammed herself against him. Hugging him tightly

"Thank you Kaka-sensei…of course. of course I still want to"

Kakashi let out the air he did not realized he was holding

" You know I will not make any changes until you come back …who knows …what if you fall in love here in Suna and decide to stay"

He meant it as a joke. But as soon as the words escaped his lips he regretted them. Not because he felt how she suddenly tensed under his hold but because when he turn to look at her she was crying. Her eyes were like endless watefalls . her bottom lip was trembling like crazy and her cheeks were a blushing red.

He panicked. He didn't know what to do .

"Sakura I-im sorry…I ddn't mean it Sakura gosh I'm such a jerk I'm sorry"

And she exploited. She let it all out she told him all her feelings all her night mares . all the hate she held towards everything and nothing at the same time. About the unfairness of the world ,of her destiny, she cursed destiny as if it was her own private enemy number one. When would she be happy again?.

"kakashi please tell me….how did I wind up here again (her creams were muffled by his vest and his chest) It's like I'm always getting blood on my hands – _Mom,Dad,Itachi_ \- all my happiness is taken away always, …(sobs) sometimes I fell like I'm sitting in the edge of a cliff, I'm being pushed way too far…I feel like I'm slipping away…Kakashi am I holding on too hard?"

He did not know how to respond to that. He knew her history , her suffering for a love that was never good for her, the death of her parents while she was away trying to rescue her friend. Kakashi knew she blamed herself for that even though there was no way of knowing her parents were being attacked by sound ninja that dreadful day. All he could do now was just hold her tighter and listen to her .

"Tell me Kakashi tell me( she was yelling) why does everything I love get taken away from me!...(his chest was getting beaten by her small fist but he was still holding on to her no matter the pain) Tell me ,w-why does everything always gets taken away?'

Her body was trembling ,shaking in his arms, even though he felt something in his chest snap he kept on holding on to her..he knew she was not actually asking him per say…so he kept listening to her.

"How come..nothing (sobs) ever lasts…It always goes from good to bad to worse so fast. All it takes is one simple fact and everything is gone and we realize we can't erase the past..why.. how come nothing ever lasts?"

"and here I am …Kakashi I am alone again"

She tighten her hold on him , pressing her cheeks on the nape of his neck as if she was holding on to him for dear life. And after a while she felt Itachi and the man in front of her was no longer Kakashi it was her gentle Itachi and she closed her eyes closing in the distance between their lips . she kissed him. It was gentle and warm .and she felt her self being lifted in the air while her itachi placed her in the bed, still kissing her. she felt love in that kiss.

And suddelty the sharingan she was looking at made everything turn black . she felt herself drowning in a dream . the scene playing before her was that of her and a baby in the shore of a beach. The baby playing in the sand . she got closed to the baby that looked so much like the father , they were trying to make a castle but sucked at it. And some one walked to them, but she did not know who this person was, he was helping the kid to build a better castle. She was not afraid of this man because in the dream she was having she was smiling at him.

Inside of her room Kakashi was stuned…he could not believe what had happened and he was dead confused.- _When did she pulled down my mask?-_

He had to put her to sleep with his sharingan because he could not stop himself , she had kissed him and he kissed her back. What stopped him from going anywhere further was because the name she called while their kissed intensified with passion was not his.

But he for a reason could not stop himself, and he kept touching his own lips, not believing what had just happened. he needed to think , he needed to sort things out before he ruined his friendship with the girl he loved like a daughter during all those years.

"S-she kissed me…s-"

- _no it was not me who she kissed…she was kissing Itachi_ -

And with that he left. He needed to sort out his own feelings …poor man was so confused…he felt like a pervert.

"I need a drink"

 **A/N here it is guys so sorry for the delay…it good read and review please**


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